


Keep My Secrets Well

by Dreamshaper



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Enforcer!Helena, F/F, Singer and then driver Dinah, the whole family is alive yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27332935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamshaper/pseuds/Dreamshaper
Summary: When the driver of Helena Bertinelli, enforcer of the Bertinelli mafia family, meets an untimely end, she's in need of a new one. Fortunately, singer Dinah Lance is eager to get away from her current job and boss.
Relationships: Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance
Comments: 86
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This my 15th fic for this pairing and I got a few more finished, ahem. I might need help. XD

It’s rare that Helena’s days start quietly, but this day does; she sleeps in, the previous evening has been long and somewhat taxing, and clearly, her parents and her brother know that, as no one shows up to wake her for breakfast, the family is big on having breakfast together and they don’t let her miss it often, even though she usually is the one who does the nightly work.

When she wakes, she feels refreshed and well rested, and hungry; still she takes the time for a shower, cleanliness is important after all, then pulls on some comfortable clothes before she finally leaves her room, automatically listening for any noise which might tell her who is where in the large mansion.

She can’t hear much, but figures her father in his office, where he usually is at that time of the day, and her mother probably at some sort of social gathering with other ladies; she has tried to get Helena into those same circles, like the daughters of her friends, but it has been clear fairly quickly that Helena’s talents lie elsewhere, and while her mother probably isn’t all too happy about what her daughter is doing now, her father has reasoned that the family can need someone with her talents and skills, and that she shouldn’t waste them by drinking tea and gossipping away the days.

He has made sure she gets the best training she can have early on, and by now, at the age of twenty-five, she’s one of the most lethal enforcers in Gotham, quite often, it’s enough to have her enter a room to have someone fold and spill all their secrets, without her having to actually do anything.

The previous night hasn’t been one of those occasions though, and it has taken quite a while to get the man to talk; he has spilled his secrets in the end, as they all always do, but still it has taken longer than anticipated, so Helena is glad that no one has torn her out of her slumber once she’s made it back home and has gone to bed.

She knows her father will want to know how the previous evening has gone, so she makes her way to his office after munching down a fast breakfast in the form of buttered toast and coffee; she knocks, as usual, and he calls out “yes” at once, as usual, giving her a smile when she steps into the room.

“Helena, good morning”, he greets her, nodding at the chair opposite his desk, as he always does when she reports to him; he waits until she has sat down, and then, all he has to do is raise an eyebrow - they are impressive eyebrows, too, Helena observes, thick and bushy, much like his mustache, her mother has tried to get him to shave it off for years, but he steadfastly refuses - and she gives her report, as always getting straight to the point, not wasting any time with small talk or beating around the bush. 

“Took a while, but he did talk”, she says, and her father smirks proudly, he’s known the man would be a tough nut to crack and that is why he has sent Helena, “he admitted it all, has been working with Rossi against us. I know he told you he’s only into the drug business, but he is trying to get into weapon trading, small time stuff, but even that is our turf.”

“It is”, Franco solemnly agrees, brows furrowing, “and how sad, Marco Rossi has been a friend of this family for so long. Tragic that he would lie to my face. Perhaps we should have him over for dinner sometime soon.”

“Sooner rather than later”, Helena advises, something she can do by now as she has proven her skills and wits often enough, “the man who talked was a small time goon of Rossi, but he might be missed at some point. Better have him over before Rossi gets suspicious.”

“Good thinking”, Franco tells her, “I know why I trust you with these things and not your fun-loving brother. I’ll have him over as fast as possible.”

Helena nods at once, and her father gives her another proud smile before he tells her that this is it for now; she gets up from her seat and walks to the door, but before she can actually leave the room, he speaks up again, and she turns to look at him again.

“One more thing”, he says, checking a sheet of paper now, “Stefano Galante has asked for a favour, support for a deal with a new supplier he doesn’t fully trust yet. Warehouse at the docks, tonight. You up for it?”

Helena shrugs, then nods, it’s not like she has anything better to do; her father smiles and holds the paper with the details out to her, and once she has taken it, she truly is free to go, reading through the details Galante has given them as she heads to the gym near her room, ripping it up once she is done so no evidence is left before she starts her daily workout, emptying her mind as she trains, the familiar pull on her muscle all she focuses on.

She’s quite rudely interrupted when the door flies open and her brother comes barging in, grinning at her as he shouts “Helena!”, much too loud for the size of the room, and she glares at him when she nearly drops the weight at his unexpected entrance.

“Pino”, she then admonishes, and he grimaces, he has been trying to get people to use a different, more adult nickname, but as his behaviour isn’t quite there yet, Helena can’t see him as anything else than her little, sometimes annoying brother, “did you spend the night drinking again, why are you so loud.”

“I spent the night having fun”, Pino tells her, grinning, and now that he closer, she can smell the alcohol on his breath, “something you should try some time! You’re always so stiff and serious!”

“I am working for the family”, Helena reminds him of what she does while he’s out and about, “something you should consider every now and then as well, instead of spending your nights partying and drinking.”

“I’m twenty-one”, he reminds her of his age in response, “I want to have fun now, more time for work later, when I’m older. Come on, go out for drinks with me tonight, I’ve been made VIP at the Black Mask Club, it’s amazing. He’s got a great singer, too, you’d like her.”

“I got work to do tonight”, Helena tells him, frowning at his careless attitude, “maybe you should come with me instead the other way round. You know Dad doesn’t want you to go out every night, anyway.”

“Okay, compromise”, Pino decides in response, “I’ll go with you to whatever thing it is you’ll do, and once we are done with that, we’ll go for a drink to the club. Alright?”

“Fine”, Helena sighs, knowing he won’t give up on taking her to the club, but also knowing that their father truly will get mad at him again if he keeps going out and not doing any work, “tell Dad you’re coming along. Don’t tell him about the club. He’ll be satisfied then.”

“Awesome”, Pino says happily, grinning at her so widely that she can’t help herself, but just has to smile a bit as well, “I’ll go tell him.”

“And then get some rest”, Helena adds, “I want you well rested and sober when we go out for this. Should be an easy job, but you never know.”

“Yeah, yeah”, Pino says, with a careless wave of his hand, “you’re like the number one ass-kicker in this town, I’m not worried. I’ll go nap though, later.”

“Later”, Helena replies with another small sigh; he just grins at her though, then wanders off, Helena holding back another sigh as she goes back to her workout, now not so sure anymore if asking her brother to come along has been a good idea.


	2. Chapter 2

Helena would have preferred to drive on her own, but her father always argues that they pay the driver, and pay him well, so he should do his job; and so, he’s driving, not the fancy limousine, but a less flashy car, Helena riding shotgun while her brother is in the backseat.

She’s tense during the drive, it is supposed to be a simple thing, just a favour from one family for another, but she knows things can go wrong even during simply missions; Pino is much more relaxed than she is, lounging on the backseat with his feet up and talking to someone on the phone, promising whoever it is that he’ll show up at the club later.

“Stop chatting”, Helena finally tells him, when his incessant talking gets too annoying, the driver giving her a brief thankful look, apparently as annoyed as she is, but knowing better than to say something, “we’re almost there.”

“Call you later”, Pino says into his phone in response, then hangs up and pockets the phone; the warehouse is appearing up ahead, Galante and two of his men already there, nodding at them when the driver parks and they get out of the car.

“Helena”, Galante is the one to greet her, “and Pino is here, too, good you could make it.”

“Stefano”, Helena returns the greeting, while Pino just nods at the men, “your new supplier not here yet?”

“No”, he sighs, glancing around, “he’s late, and that on the first time we deal with each other. Not a good start.”

Helena lets out a vaguely agreeing noise, and Galante sighs again; he checks his watch, then looks around, and then there is a loud bang and he stumbles back and against the car behind him, blood splashing.

Helena reacts at once, and so does Pino, they both have been trained for situations like this, and while Helena is better at it than her brother, he does react fast enough to avoid taking a bullet; they both vault over the car and take cover behind it, but their driver isn’t so lucky, going down as he’s riddled with bullets.

“Shit”, Helena curses as she draws her own gun, Pino doing the same a moment later, “a fucking ambush, should have known when Galante said they’re late.”

She peers over the car for a second to spot the assailants, and sees one of them, but he sees her, too; quickly, she ducks behind the car again, a bullet whizzing past a second later, if she hadn’t moved so fast, it would have hit her right in the head.

“Don’t get shot”, Pino hisses at her, “Dad would never let me live that down.”

Helena just glares at him, then straightens up again, takes a moment to aim and fires; the man who has tried to shoot her falls with a hoarse gurgle, and she quickly ducks back into the cover before someone else can take a shot at her, hearing the men Galante had brought along firing as well, somewhat glad that they apparently have gotten over the shock of seeing their boss killed.

Pino takes the chance given that they are focusing on his sister, peers over the car and takes down one man as well; and with their combined efforts, they manage to take out the remaining of the attackers, somehow without getting hurt, Helena frowning deeply once the last man has fallen and they can dare to leave their cover.

“Fucking Hell”, one of Galante’s men is the first to say what they all are thinking, “we told him this is shady, but he wouldn’t listen. Shit. You guys okay?”

“Fine”, Helena tells them, checking on the driver even though she knows he is dead, but she has to make sure; Pino makes a face at the bloodied holes in the man’s shirt, but doesn’t stop her from trying to find a pulse, not surprised when she straightens up again after a few moment and shakes her head.

“Damn”, Pino sighs, with an unhappy look at the dead man, “Dad only hired him two months ago. Now we’ll have to find another driver again.”

“We soon won’t find drivers anymore, with the rate we burn through them”, Helena dryly responds, and Pino makes a face, but has to agree; and a moment later, he grimaces again when Helena tells him they have to clean this mess up before they can go back home.

“Guess the club tonight is a no then, huh”, he says, and Helena just has to give him a  _ look _ to answer this question; he sighs again, then gets to work with her, Galante’s men helping as well, all of them knowing that no trace of this can be left behind.

* * *

By the time they finally arrive back at the Bertinelli mansion, Pino looks like he is about to fall asleep while standing up, and Helena can’t quite hide her tiredness, either; she’s in better shape than Pino, but the cleanup has taken a toll on her, as well, and she has to struggle to hold back a yawn when they enter the large house together.

“We gotta tell Dad about this”, Helena still tells her brother, not allowing him to head off to bed yet and go to sleep, “he’ll still be up waiting, and he’ll know something went wrong, just from how late it is.”

Pino knows this to be true, so he sighs and nods, not bothering to hold back his yawn, but just letting it out; they had to their father’s office together, and already when they enter, Franco is frowning, his frown deepening further when he sees the blood on his children’s hands.

“Ambush”, Helena says before he has to ask, “that new supplier Galante wanted to check out had goons with guns there instead of an awesome shipment. Galante’s dead, and so’s our driver, but the guys who did the ambush are dead, too.”

“Good job”, Franco tells her, “you cleaned up as well, I imagine?”

“We did”, Pino is the one to answer that, not just wanting to stand there and listen, “and we told Galante’s guys to hit us up in case they need a new job. Might be a good chance to strengthen our influence, with Galante gone.”

“Unless the supplier who had him killed is making a move”, Franco points out, and Pino makes a face, “but good thinking, good offer. Can’t hurt to have them think of the Bertinelli name once the shock about their killed boss fades.”

Pino looks proud again, and Helena gives a small smile of her own; it has been her idea to tell the guys that the Bertinelli family is always looking for good, loyal men, but it can’t hurt to have her brother get some credit, she knows their father thinks of him as a party animal and doesn’t see him as very helpful to the family business.

“Good work, both of you”, Franco says, not asking if they’re okay, but then, Helena knows he can see that they are, and it takes more than a shootout with some goons to shake her up, “now get some rest. Take tomorrow night off. I’ll see if I can contact Galante’s right hand man, perhaps, we can work something out. Now get some rest, you both look like you can need it.”

They both nod, then leave the office, and now, Helena does allow herself a yawn; Pino, on the other hand, suddenly looks wide awake again, grinning at her as he nudges her while they walk side by side to their bedrooms.

“Tomorrow night off”, he says, and Helena holds back a sigh, already knowing where he is going with this, “so we can go to the club tomorrow! Come on, please say Yes, it’s an official free evening.”

“Fine”, Helena sighs, knowing he won’t give in until she has been to the damn club with him at least once, but perhaps, if she’ll obviously have no fun, he’ll leave her alone, “tomorrow night then, okay. But now, get some sleep, like Dad said.”

“Awesome”, Pino grins, so happy that Helena finds herself smiling as well, and she reminds herself that her brother just wants to spend some time with her which is not connected to their business, “and yeah, you too. Good night.”

“Good night”, Helena echoes, then retreats to her room; she still takes the time for a quick shower, washing off the night’s grime and blood, and shortly after she is done with that, she is fast asleep, slumbering deeply until the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor driver...


	3. Chapter 3

Already when Helena enters the club with Pino, she is annoyed, it’s too dark and too loud and there’s too many people, and she feels like they all are staring at her, as if they all know who she is, what she does, and wonder what the fuck she is doing here.

Pino seems to have no such troubles, smiling and nodding and waving at people he apparently knows; he leads to the way to the bar, where the owner of the club is sitting, Helena has heard of Roman Sionis before, but has never met him, and one look at him tells her that she hasn’t missed much. 

There’s something sleazy and not quite genuine about the way he smiles at her, and the man who stands beside him seems even worse, there’s something about him which makes her uncomfortable, the way he looks at her not helping, as if she’s something he found stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

“Joey Bertinelli!” Sionis shouts as he spots her brother, and for a moment, Helena is confused, then holds back a smirk as she realizes that her brother certainly hasn’t introduced himself as Pino at this place, “welcome, so good to see you again! And who’s your lovely friend?”

Helena is fairly certain he knows who she is, she knows he deals in some shady business and everyone who does so knows who the Bertinellis are; Pino still introduces her as his sister Helena though, and she makes herself smile politely and shakes Sionis’ hand, the blonde guy standing by his side now forcing a smile as well, his tacky gold teeth only lowering Helena’s opinion of him further.

“Come on, come on”, Sionis says, smiling sleazily at the two of them, and Helena wonders if Pino really can’t see just how sleazy that smile is, “to the VIP lounge with the two of you, no need to hang out here amongst the regular guests. Follow me.”

He leads the way, Pino trailing along behind him, Helena taking note of how Sionis’ blonde friend makes sure to wait until she has passed him before he gets moving as well, and she wonders if he does so to keep an eye on both Pino and her; if she had been a different person, she might have told herself not to be paranoid, but she has been working for her family and their mafia business ever since she has been old enough to do so, and she knows to trust her gut and instincts, and her gut tells her that both Sionis and his friend are bad news.

She knows better than to say this while they are around to hear her though, and so, she just lets them take Pino and her to the VIP lounge; it’s a separate room, with a bar of its own and a bartender who smiles widely at them as they enter, Helena not sure if she should feel awkward or relieved when she sees there’s other people already in there, some faces familiar to her as they are from other mob families in Gotham.

None of them is from a family they are not on good or at least neutral terms with though, so Helena doesn’t worry about it; and several of them smile and nod at Pino, and wave, her brother returning the greetings as Sionis leads them to one of the few still empty tables and offers them a seat.

“Joey, the usual for you, I imagine”, he says, smiling his sleazy smile again, “and Helena, what can I get you? Your brother favours gin tonic, but I assume this is not your sort of drink?”

“Beer’s fine”, Helena tells him, wondering if she should be offended at him just addressing her in such a familiar way, then shrugging it off for the moment; he smiles and nods, then gives his blonde friend one look, and the man hurries to get the drinks, Helena keeping her eyes on him as he does so, just to make sure he won’t drop anything into it or do some other creepy thing to it.

He does nothing to the drinks though, just brings them to the table; and then, Sionis excuses himself, and his friend goes with him, and the moment they are out of earshot, Helena frowns, leaning closer to her brother so no one around will hear as she speaks up.

“Who’s Sionis’ blonde lapdog”, she wants to know, Pino making a face at once, apparently not fond of the man either, “gives me the creeps.”

“Victor Zsasz”, Pino tells her, taking a sip of his drink before he goes on, “honestly, I’m no fan of him, either. He’s always at Sionis’ side, and there’s rumours he does his dirty work for him.”

“He looks like someone who’d not only do it, but enjoy it”, Helena mumbles, she knows people see her as the one who does a lot of so-called dirty work for her father, but unlike others in this business she has met, she finds no pleasure in it, it doesn’t bother her, but she doesn’t enjoy it, either, she just knows it has to be done and so she does it.

Her father once has told her that this is what actually makes her perfect for the job, because she can do it with clinical detachment; someone who enjoys it might get carried away and go too far too fast, and someone who’s bothered by it might hesitate, but Helena just does what has to be done, and this, her father has let her know, makes him proud of her.

“Oh look”, Pino distracts her from those thoughts, nudging her and earning a glare he skillfully ignores, “that’s the singer I talked about! She’s amazing, her voice is so good.”

Helena looks at the woman he’s pointing out to her, and for a moment, she finds it hard to breathe, because this has to be the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.

She’s smiling as she moves through the room with ease and grace, the movements of someone who is used to being the center of attention, Helena figures; and she is moving towards them, and as she gets closer, Helena can hear her voice, too, and it’s as pleasant and beautiful as the woman looks. 

“Joey”, the woman says as she reaches their table, giving her brother a smile which sends Helena’s heartrate through the roof, and this only gets worse when that smile is directed at her, “and you must be Helena. Dinah Lance. Nice to meet you.”

“Same”, Helena manages, glad that she at least has brought out this one word, and Pino is well aware of the effect Dinah has on her, judging from the absurdly wide grin on his face; Dinah gives her another smile, then moves on to the next table, and Helena immediately feels forlorn and wants her to come back.

“Oh my God”, Pino says the moment Dinah is out of earshot, still grinning widely, Helena giving him another glare which he easily ignores though, “you’re totally into her! Ha! I knew you’d be into her, I knew it!”

“Shut the fuck up”, Helena hisses, embarrassed, hoping no one has heard that, especially not Dinah, but fortunately, no one is looking their way, so she figures nobody is aware of what Pino just has said.

“You say anything to anyone”, she adds, with another glare at him, “and I’ll tell them all what we still call you,  _ Joey. _ You wouldn’t want that, would you.”

“Low blow”, Pino admonishes, making a face again; Helena just smirks and shrugs, then takes a sip of her beer as she leans back into the seat, deciding she might as well get comfortable.

A few tables away, Dinah turns and looks at her, and their eyes meet; and when Dinah smiles at her, it sends a flash of heat right to her core, and she finds herself smiling back without even fully realizing she is doing it.

This club, she decides, isn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, Helena is impressed. XD


	4. Chapter 4

Quite a while later, Pino has wandered off to talk to some people he knows, and Helena is sitting alone at the table, nursing her second beer and watching the others in the room; whenever someone happens to meet her gaze, they look away again quickly, but that doesn’t bother her, she figures they know who she is and what she does, so she can’t really blame them.

She finds herself wondering if Dinah knows what she does as she watches the woman in question move through the room and talk to people, she has known her name, but hasn’t seemed put off by her; perhaps she ponders, the woman has no idea, just knows she is Pino’s sister, or maybe, she does know and doesn’t care, Helena figuring that she is no stranger to crime if she is working for Sionis.

As if her thoughts have somehow gained Dinah’s attention, Dinah turns and looks at her, smiling again - before she moves over to her table, and Helena finds herself feeling flustered again, taking a quick sip of her beer in an attempt to cool herself down.

“Hey”, Dinah says as she nods at the space next to her on the bench she is using, “this seat free?”

“Sure”, Helena tells her, going for nonchalant, but she knows she hasn’t sounded quite as smooth as she has tried; Dinah is kind enough to not let it show if she has noticed though, smiling at her again as she sits down, Helena trying very hard to not stare at her legs as she does so.

“So”, Dinah says once she has gotten comfortable, “Helena Bertinelli. I’ve heard of you, you know.”

Helena just gives a wry smile, and shrugs, she figures everyone who’s connected to the shadier sides of Gotham has heard of her; Dinah, at least, doesn’t look afraid of her, as people often do, but then, she doesn’t know what exactly Dinah has heard, and so that might change soon, once she realizes what Helena actually is doing for her family.

“From what your brother has said”, Dinah continues, distracting Helena from her ponderings, “you’re not one to go to clubs, normally. So what brings you here tonight?”

“Pi… Joey annoyed me until I agreed to come”, Helena tells her, making her smile again, and she hopes she hasn’t noticed the almost-slip about her brother’s name, “you’re right though, normally, I’m not one to hang out much in clubs.”

“Often too busy at night, I imagine”, Dinah comments, making Helena certain that she at least has a vague idea about what she does; she just shrugs, not wanting to reveal too much, and to her relief, Dinah doesn’t seem bothered by this, as she gives her another smile, and takes a sip of her drink, Helena taking the chance given by this to steer the conversation away from herself. 

“So you sing here?” she asks, even though she already knows the answer to that, “sounds like a good job.”

“Yeah, it would be”, Dinah tells her, and Helena frowns, not quite sure where this is going now, and she’s a bit surprised when the singer continues, “If it weren’t for Sionis and his creepy lapdog. Honestly, if a better offer came along, I’d quit in a heartbeat, but I can’t afford to lose this job without a new one ready.”

“Oh”, Helena lets out, a bit surprised at how open and honest Dinah is with her about this, but then, she realizes, she  _ is  _ part of Gotham’s most powerful, richest mafia family, and perhaps, Dinah is hoping for a job offer, not that Helena can blame her, she doubts she would have enjoyed working for someone as sleazy as Sionis.

“You know”, she continues before she can stop herself, or before she can overthink it, “we are looking for a new driver at the moment. That job is not without danger though, our last driver got shot and died.”

Dinah raises an eyebrow at that, if she has been angling for a job offer from the Bertinelli family with her comments, she certainly hasn’t expected one so fast; she seems not put off by the idea though, Helena realizes, and her heart beats faster at the idea of Dinah actually working for them, being close to them, to  _ her _ , something she hopes Dinah isn’t aware of as she makes herself hold the woman’s gaze.

“Working for Sionis isn’t without danger, either”, Dinah tells her, and Helena fights the urge to look sceptical, she doesn’t want to give Dinah the impression she doesn’t believe her, “I’ve been working here for about a year, there was another girl singing here before me. Want to know what happened to her?”

Helena shrugs, then nods, and Dinah leans closer to her, so she can lower her voice and have no one else hear what she is saying, Helena realizes this, but it also allows her to feel the singer’s breath on her ear, and that makes her heart beat faster again, and once again, she hopes Dinah doesn’t notice.

“She displeased him”, Dinah lets her know, and Helena is glad for her ability to keep her face neutral even when hearing or seeing gruesome things, “not able to sing the way he wanted her to. So one evening, he took her to the basement, and Zsasz sliced off her face, and he used his money to hush it up.”

She leans back into her seat and smiles, as if she has told her some intimate joke instead of this gruesome little anecdote; and from the corner of her eye, Helena can see Sionis move through the room, so she smiles as well, the last thing she wants is to cause trouble for Dinah, especially after what she just has heard.

“You know this for sure?” she asks, and when Dinah nods, she makes a mental note to inform her brother about this, she’s not sure she wants Pino to hang out with someone who’d do something like this; she has tortured and murdered people for information or as punishment when they have been caught working against the family or with the police, but the thought of doing this to someone over something as trivial as a song makes her stomach turn, a sensation she isn’t quite used to. 

“Well”, she says, still smiling, and she hopes the smile looks less fake than it feels on her face, just in case Sionis is looking, she knows better than to glance his way to find out, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on Dinah even as she pulls out her wallet and gets one of her business cards, “the offer stands. My number.”

“Thank you”, Dinah smiles as she takes the card and pockets it quickly, perhaps so Sionis won’t see, Helena ponders, and that leads her to another unpleasant thought, and she frowns, now being the one to lean closer so no one else will hear what she says.

“Won’t he be… displeased though?” she mumbles, now noticing him looking from the corner of her eye, and Dinah clearly takes note of it, as well, as she lets out a laugh and places her hand on Helena’s arm, making it look as if they’re talking about something decidedly less gruesome, “if you quit to work for us?”

“He might be if it was anyone else”, Dinah tells her, through a smile which is probably as fake as Helena’s own, “but if I start working for the Bertinelli family? He won’t dare to do anything.”

“Smart”, Helena comments, making her smile a bit more genuinely, “wouldn’t end well for him. Well. As I said, the offer stands.”

“I’ll call you”, Dinah promises, then gives her arm a few pats before she pulls back and stands up; and as she walks away to talk to the other guests around, Helena finds herself unable to look away from her, more intrigued than she wants to admit to herself, and certainly hoping that Dinah truly will give her that call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd want another job too Dinah, can't blame you.


	5. Chapter 5

“Soooo”, Pino says the moment they have stepped out of the club, giving Helena a grin which is enough to make her roll her eyes, “I saw you hitting it off with Dinah at our table. You into her?”

Helena just shrugs, she really is in no mood to discuss this with her brother; she figures she should tell him about the offer though, and so, she does, Pino raising his brows as Helena speaks.

“She actually told me she’s looking for a different job”, Helena lets him know, “so I offered her to be our new driver.”

“Helena, really”, Pino admonishes with a roll of his eyes, “I take you there for the first time and you offer a job to Roman’s singer? He’s not gonna be happy about that, he really likes her voice.”

“Good thing he does”, Helena dryly replies as one of her father’s men pulls up to them in the car, doing double duty until the find a new proper driver, “because she told me that the girl who sang there before her had her face sliced off by Zsasz when your buddy Roman wasn’t happy with her singing. Hence why she is looking for a new job.”

“Shit, what”, Pino sounds quite shocked, Helena figuring that he’s had no idea about what Victor Zsasz does in his free time for Sionis, “seriously? That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, seriously”, Helena confirms, “so I’d prefer it if you wouldn’t hang with that guy anymore. She told me she’s looking for something new, and working for us will give her protection from him in case he’s pissed about her quitting.”

“Good thinking”, Pino nods, still looking dismayed about what Helena has revealed about Sionis and Zsasz, “if that shit about Zsasz is true, she’ll want a job with someone who can keep her from having the same thing happen to her.”

“I have no reason to think she’d lie to me”, Helena says with a little shrug, and Pino nods again, figuring that this does make sense, “now it’s up to her if she’ll call or not. She does have my number.”

“I bet she does”, Pino grins, unimpressed by the withering look Helena gives him in response, “come on, don’t look at me like that. As if you’ve just offered her a job from the goodness of your heart. You totally want to get into her pants.”

Helena just scowls, deciding to not even dignify that with an answer; undeterred, Pino snickers again, but thankfully doesn’t push the subject of Helena’s desire for Dinah and her pants, leaning into his seat again and sighing, making a face again as he looks out the window.

“So, guess I’ll have to find a new club”, he sighs, Helena nodding at once, not liking the thought of her brother hanging out with a man like Sionis, “damn, that place was really nice. But well, that is fucked up even for our standards.”

Helena nods again, glad that Pino is so agreeable about this; he sighs again, doesn’t say anything else about the club though, just stares out the window as the car takes them back to the mansion, not saying anything else for the rest of the drive.

* * *

In the next day, Helena lets her father know that they might have a new driver soon, not giving him any details about why Dinah wants to work for them, but she does tell him her name and that she is working at the Black Mask club at the moment; she knows that this is enough though for her father to do a thorough background check on the woman, the last thing they need is someone who can’t be trusted so close to the family, a thought her father shares as he nods once she has finished talking.

“Good job finding a candidate so fast”, he then says, as if Helena has been out and about, actively looking for a new driver, but then, praise from him is rare, so she doesn’t correct him, “I’ll have this woman looked up. In case she does call you before this gets done, tell her to come by for an interview.”

“Will do”, Helena reassures him, and he nods, dismissing her; and as always when she has a free morning, she heads to the gym, knowing she has to stay in shape for the work she does for her family.

She starts with warming up, not wanting to injure herself on accident; and once her muscle has loosened up and is ready, she moves on to the punching bag, and soon, the gym is filled with the sounds of her fists hitting the bag and the low grunts she lets out every now and then as she trains.

As always when she is training, Helena forgets everything else around her, just focuses on working out and on how it makes her feel, the satisfying strain on her muscles; it doesn’t take long until she is drenched in sweat, but she keeps going, not allowing herself to stop until she’s been through her whole routine.

By the time she is done, she’s breathing heavier, and her heart is beating harder than usual in her chest, but in a good way, in a satisfying way; Helena feels good and relaxed when she heads to the shower, and stands beneath the pleasant hot spray a bit longer than strictly necessary, enjoying the feeling of the water running down her skin. 

Finally, Helena does step out of the shower again though and, after towelling herself dry and putting on fresh clothes, goes to find some food; and as she walks to the dining room, knowing breakfast will still be available there, she checks her phone, feeling an odd flash of heat when she sees a text from an unknown number has come in while she’s been in the shower.

_ Good morning Helena _ , the text starts out fairly formal,  _ the offer still standing? Regards, Dinah _

_ Yeah _ , Helena writes back at once, remembering what her father has said about inviting her,  _ told my father, he wants to interview you. You free this afternoon? _

_ Whenever you want me there, _ Dinah replies fast, making Helena wonder if she is anxiously sitting with her phone in hand and waiting for her reply; and so, instead of going for breakfast, she makes a detour to her father’s office, and asks him when he has time, letting Dinah know that she should meet them at the mansion at three once he has told her.

She adds the address just in case, not that the house is hard to miss, and, after a moment, a few words about how she looks forward to it; Dinah texts back quickly again, confirming that she’ll be there and that she’s looking forward to it as well, and when Helena puts her phone away again, she finds herself smiling.

She knows it’s too early to be happy about this, there might be something in the background check which will lead to her father refusing to hire Dinah, or Dinah might end up not wanting to work for them after all - they are not nearly as sleazy as Sionis, but they  _ are  _ a mob family, and if the singer wants to get away from anything related to crime, she might change her mind at some point.

Despite telling herself this though, Helena still finds herself happy, and she’s not quite able to stop herself from feeling good about this as she finally goes to get her breakfast, now looking forward to the interview in the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pino keeps shipping it XD


	6. Chapter 6

Punctually at three, Dinah is led into her father’s office, where Helena and Franco are waiting for her; she’s dressed up for the interview, Helena sees at once, the business style blouse and skirt a stark contrast to the outfit she’s worn the previous night at the club, and the smile she gives Franco when she shakes his hand is polite, widening a bit though when she shakes Helena’s hand and their eyes meet.

“Welcome”, Franco says, gesturing at the chair in front of his desk; he’s sitting behind it, a massive, old thing made of oak which he thinks of as impressive, but Helena only finds it cumbersome and too big, “we’re glad you could make it, Miss Lance. Helena tells me you are interested in working as our driver?”

“I am”, Dinah nods at once, giving him another polite smile, and Helena knows it’s a good sign when he smiles back for a moment, “you surely know already that I’m currently working for Roman Sionis, but I am looking for a new job.”

“You don’t mind working at night then?” Franco asks, and Dinah shakes her head at once, which earns her another brief smile before he goes on, “good. You’d mostly drive for my daughter and son, and a lot of that driving happens at night. You are aware of who we are, yes?”

“Yes”, Dinah confirms, holding his gaze now, but Helena figures she is aware of her eyes on her, finding it hard to look away from her, “of course I am, who doesn’t know the Bertinelli name? Your reputation and influence is one of the reasons why I want to work for you.”

“Elaborate?” Franco wants to know, raising his brows, and Helena remembers that she hasn’t told him about what Dinah has revealed to her the previous night; Dinah gives him another smile, still holding his gaze, and Helena knows that is good, her father appreciates people who can look him in the eye.

“Sionis does not take kindly to people… leaving him”, Dinah tells him, and he nods, he has dealt with the man before, Helena knows, thankfully not often, and he has not been fond of him either, “so if I just started working at some random other job, I’d probably have a tragic accident a week later. But if I start working for the Bertinelli family, he won’t dare touch me.”

“Very true”, Franco says, smiling a bit again, as he knows this to be a simple fact and not Dinah kissing ass, Helena is fairly certain she’d be out of the room already if her father had had the impression that she’s trying to suck up to him, “and I do not doubt that you’re right, Mr Sionis is… a peculiar one.”

“Yeah, that describes him well”, Dinah dryly says, and Helena has to hold back a snort at her tone, but can’t quite fight the smile; for a second, Dinah’s gaze flickers to her, then focuses on her father again, and she gives the man another brief smile.

Franco asks her a few more questions, then lets her know that they’ll call her, but that her chances are good; and as he says that, Helena knows Dinah has the job, he wouldn’t have made that comment otherwise, and she holds back another smile, keeping her face carefully neutral as she doesn’t quite want her father to notice how happy this makes her.

“Have a good day, Miss Lance”, Franco concludes the interview, shaking her hand again, “Helena will see you to the door.”

This surprises Helena a bit, as usual, he doesn’t have her walk guests out; she can’t say she minds though, nodding as she moves to Dinah’s side, and the singer manages to hold back until they are not only out of the office, but also out of Franco’s earshot.

“So?” she says, Helena looking at her as they walk side by side, “how’d I do?”

“Good”, Helena decides to be honest, “I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty certain you can hand in your notice at the club soon.”

“Thank God”, Dinah sighs, looking so relieved that it makes Helena raise her brows, and she wonders how afraid Dinah really is of Sionis, it seems to be a fear bigger than she has shown so far, “seriously, I’d start tonight if I could.”

“I’ll put in a good word for you”, Helena promises, earning a bright smile which makes her heart skip, “but I’m pretty sure that won’t be very necessary, you’ve made a good impression on my father. I know him, I can tell.”

“And you?” Dinah asks her, quite straight-forward, Helena thinks to herself, “I’ve made a good impression on you, too?”

“Yeah”, Helena tells her, which leads to another bright smile from the singer, “you already did yesterday at the club. I wouldn’t have told you about the job otherwise.”

“Good to know”, Dinah smiles at her, Helena smiling back at her at once, “I mean, your father did say it’s mostly driving your brother and you around. So we should get along.”

“I’m not worried about that”, Helena solemnly tells her, making her smile again; and then, she surprises Helena by reaching out and briefly touching her arm, usually, people don’t touch her much, and when Dinah has done so the previous evening at the club, it has been a ruse to fool Sionis, but this time, there is no one around to see, so it must be simply because Dinah wants to.

“Good”, the singer says, pulling her hand back just as they reach the front door, “I’ll wait for the call, then. Thanks again for offering this to me in the first place.”

“Thank me once you actually got the job”, Helena tells her, Dinah just shrugging in response, “and yeah, we’ll call you. Hope to see you soon.”

“Hope so, too”, Dinah says with a small nod while Helena pulls the door open for her; she takes the time to wish her a good day, and Dinah wishes her the same before she leaves, heading to the car parked near the entrance, Helena holding back a frown at the sight of it, it’s clearly an older model and the sounds the engine makes when Dinah starts it don’t inspire much confidence in the vehicle. 

_ Well _ , Helena then ponders as Dinah drives away, watching her until the car is out of sight,  _ if she can drive that without crashing, she should be fine driving for us. _

She finally steps back inside and closes the door again as she can’t see the car anymore, then goes to find her father to see if he has any work he needs her to do, determined to put in a good word for Dinah as she promised, if only so Dinah can get away from working for the man she so obviously is deeply afraid of. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw Helena, how helpful of you XD


	7. Chapter 7

Right in the next morning, Franco calls Helena into his office and lets her know that, if she’s okay with it, the job is Dinah’s if she still wants it; Helena nods at once, perhaps a bit too eager, but her father either hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care, as he just tells her to call the singer then, and to invite her to the house so they can set up the contract and take care of everything else.

Helena is more than happy to do so, and calls Dinah the second she is out of her father’s office; she reminds herself not to sound too giddy though, she’s Helena Bertinelli after all, enforcer for their mafia business, and an enforcer should not sound giddy when informing someone that they have the job.

Dinah takes the call after the first ring, showing she has been waiting for it, but she sounds quite calm when she greets Helena; Helena manages to sound somewhat cool as well when she returns the greeting, and, not wanting to beat around the bush, she gets right to the point.

“You got the job”, she tells Dinah, hoping the singer hasn’t changed her mind since the previous day, “if you still want it. Drop by today to sign everything and be shown around?”

“Awesome, of course”, Dinah says at once, and Helena is relieved, “sure, just tell me when to be there.”

“One o’clock”, Helena tells her, the time her father has given her, “bring the document stuff and maybe a change of clothes, good chance you’ll already be driving for us tonight.”

“Sure”, Dinah agrees, “I’ll be there. Looking forward to working for you guys.”

“Great”, Helena says, probably sounding a tad too happy now after all, but she can’t quite help herself, and she hopes Dinah simply may not have noticed, it’s not like they know each other very well, “see you at one then.”

“Yeah, see you”, Dinah confirms, and Helena ends the call; she smiles to herself, then clears her throat as she tells herself to keep this under control, Dinah might have been friendly and perhaps even flirty with her at Sionis’ club, but she reminds herself to be professional, Dinah will work for them after all and Helena will be her boss, not her friend.

_ Keep it professional _ , she reminds herself as she heads to the gym, as she does every morning,  _ she’s your employee now. Keep that in mind. _

She’s determined to do so, but she already knows it will be hard, and she might not be able to actually stick to her own advice for too long.

* * *

Once again, Dinah shows up perfectly punctual, and is taken to Franco’s office; he already has the contract ready, all she has to do is sign, and after one glance at what they will pay her, Dinah is more than willing to do so, Helena watching her put her signature onto the paper with a small smile curling her lips.

“Welcome to the family”, Franco says as he hands the contract to his waiting secretary so she can make a copy, “Helena will show you around and explain the basics. She’ll also answer any questions you might have.”

Dinah nods, and gives Helena a smile which the taller woman returns at once; she moves to their new driver’s side and asks her to follow her, Dinah nodding again as they leave the office together, Franco already focused on his work again.

“You got one evening a week off”, Helena tells her as they walk, Dinah trailing along next to her, not quite sure where they are going, “usually Monday or Tuesday, believe it or not, but a lot of crime does happen on the weekend. When you’re on duty, we might often need you at short notice, so we’d prefer it if you stayed here, we have a room readied for you.”

Dinah raises her brows at that, clearly not having expected that, but then, it makes sense, as a driver for a mafia family probably won’t have regular hours; Helena gives her a brief smile, then stops in front of one of the doors lining the hallway, vaguely gesturing at it as she goes on.

“The room”, she says, stating the obvious a bit, and momentarily feeling awkward as she pushes the door open; Dinah gives the room an appreciative look though, so Helena figures it’s okay.

It’s the same room the previous unfortunate driver has used, but his stuff already has been removed and the room has been cleaned; it’s somewhat simple, a bed, a desk with two chairs and a wardrobe, but Dinah seems to like it, and Helena is glad, giving her another smile when Dinah steps inside and drops the duffel bag she’s brought onto the bed.

“You’re welcome to stay here on your days off as well, of course”, she adds, Dinah turning to look at her again, “might not hurt to stay in a place where Sionis and Zsasz won’t be able to touch you, even when you officially work for us. Bathroom is down the hall, third door on the right, you’re sharing that with the cook, but no worries, she’s very… clean. Gym is at the end of the hall, you’re free to use that, as well.”

“Wow”, Dinah lets out, giving her a look of appreciation, “honestly? If I had known working for a mob family has perks like this, I would have applied much sooner.”

“I guess we’re sort of… unique, when it comes to that”, Helena admits, earning a curious look which prompts her to elaborate, “we want our people to be loyal to us, and treating them well certainly helps with that. Harder to bribe someone when there’s a personal connection.”

“Makes sense”, Dinah nods, Helena giving her another smile; then, she offers to show her where the staff eats their meals, and Dinah nods at once, following her again as she takes the lead once more.

She shows her the rest of the area the staff uses, then takes her to the garage; Dinah makes big eyes at the limousine there, but Helena reassures her at once that her father mostly uses that one, and that he has a driver of his own, a guy who has been working for him for twenty years and probably will do so until the day he dies.

“This is the car my brother and I usually use”, Helena adds, gesturing at a much less flashy vehicle, but Dinah can tell it hasn’t been cheap, either, “easier to drive than a limousine, I imagine, and faster too. Which is good, cause sometimes, we gotta get away quickly, you’re not afraid of driving fast, are you?”

“I wouldn’t have accepted the job if I was”, Dinah points out, making Helena smirk a bit, “I was fairly certain I’ll be driving you around to not exactly legal stuff when your father said I’d mostly drive your brother and you.”

“Pretty much, yeah”, Helena confirms, glad that Dinah doesn’t seem to mind the idea much, but then, she has known who Pino and she are when she’s been offered the job, “and like I said, I’ll need you tonight already. In theory, not a dangerous job tonight, but we also thought that the other day and then our driver died so…”

“You know, that is not a good way to sell that job”, Dinah points out, and Helena just shrugs, figuring there is no use in lying about it, Dinah might think she knows what she is getting into, but she might only fully realize it once bullets are flying, “but yeah, I’ll be ready.”

“Good”, Helena says, “I got work to do until then so… Make yourself at home. Maybe get some stuff you need from your place. Oh, and the WiFi password is Bertinelli2000. I’ll need you at ten.”

“Alright”, Dinah agrees, and after another brief smile, Helena leaves her to her own business; she feels a bit bad, just walking off like that, but she does have work to do, and she reminds herself again that Dinah works for her now.

She wonders how often she’ll have to tell herself that in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah Helena, keep it professional. XD


	8. Chapter 8

When Helena arrives at the garage at ten, Dinah is already there, leaning against the car, but straightening up when Helena enters; the driver greets her, and Helena nods in response, smirking when Dinah pauses, then looks a bit awkward.

“So am I supposed to open the door for you”, she then asks, figuring that’s okay as it’s just the two of them, “or is that just a limousine thing?”

“Limousine thing”, Helena tells her, moving to the passenger side, slightly surprising Dinah as she has been fairly certain she’ll sit in the back, but she doesn’t comment on it, just gets into the car as well and asks Helena where she should drive her. 

Helena gives her an address in one of the business districts of town in response, Dinah feeling relieved that she knows where this place is; she wonders what Helena wants to do there, figuring no one will be there at this time, but she figures it’s smarter not to ask, and so, she just nods and carefully drives out of the garage.

As she drives, she glances at Helena every now and then, the taller woman seemingly unaware of it as she sits in silence, keeping her gaze straight ahead; there’s a hardness in her features now Dinah hasn’t seen at the club, and a sort of coldness, and Dinah figures that this is what she is like when she does work for her family, she knows what Helena does isn’t very nice, but at least, she doesn’t seem gleeful about it, the way Zsasz has been when he has done dirty work for Sionis.

At least, she ponders as she drives, the silence isn’t uncomfortable, a slight surprise, considering how shortly they have actually known each other; from the corner of her eye, she can see Helena go tense as they near the building, and her tone is somewhat clipped when she tells Dinah to stop the car, at a safe distance from her target.

“Wait here”, she then adds, not really surprising Dinah, this is her first night on the job and even though she has been officially hired, she figures they won’t want her to actually see Helena do anything illegal, not until they trust her; she just nods, and Helena gets out of the car, moving to the trunk and grabbing a few items from it before she gets moving.

She walks past the driver’s side of the car, and Dinah can see the box she carries, the bottles with strips of cloth hanging out of them, and suddenly she’s glad they have come here at night, when the buildings are empty and no one is actually in there.

Helena rounds the corner and is out of sight, and Dinah feels nervous as she shifts on the car seat; clearly, the woman works fast and efficiently though, as soon, she can see the orange glow of flames rise from one of the buildings, and not long after that, Helena comes back, walking at a brisk pace now, the now empty box in one hand. 

The moment Dinah can see her, she starts the engine, and that earns her a look of approval as Helena gets into the car and tosses the crate onto the backseat; and the second she pulls the door close, Dinah steps onto the gas pedal, wasting no time with turning the car around, but figuring she can take a different route back to the mansion, the sound of sirens approaching from behind them telling her that this has been a good idea.

Once again, Helena is quiet as Dinah drives, and Dinah doesn’t break the silence, either; only when they are close to the Bertinelli mansion, Helena lets out a sigh, then glances at the driver, Dinah keeping her gaze focused on the road even though she notices Helena looking at her from the corner of her eye.

“Good job”, Helena says, and Dinah feels like she hasn’t done much, but is glad about the praise anyway, “I could use a drink now, you want to join me?”

“Sure”, Dinah agrees at once, she’s not upset or shaken up per se, but figures it can’t hurt to share a drink with Helena, and she does like the idea of spending more time with her, arson or not, something Helena clearly is happy about as she gives her a smile, the hardness fading from her features when Dinah drives into the garage.

They both get out of the car, and Helena leads the way, to the living room and straight to the liquor cabinet there; she pulls it open, revealing an impressive collection of drinks, vaguely gesturing at it as she tells Dinah to pick her poison.

“I’m a whisky girl”, Dinah tells her, and Helena relaxes further as she tells her that she is, as well; she pulls a bottle and two glasses from the cabinet, pouring quite generously, Dinah hoping that she won’t have to drive again that night as she takes the glass from the taller woman. 

“Cheers”, Helena says somewhat dryly once the bottle has gone back into the cabinet, and they clink glasses before they each take a sip; Dinah is studying the other woman as she drinks, Helena holding her gaze, even though she suddenly seems somewhat uncomfortable, a far cry from the cold enforcer she’s been during the job.

“Good going tonight”, Helena says once she has taken a few sips of her drink, “good thinking with driving straight away without turning and having the engine ready. Seems like you’re a natural for that sort of work.”

“That was just common sense”, Dinah tells her with a small shrug, smiling a bit at the praise though, “but good to know you’re satisfied with how I did the job, I wouldn’t want to get fired on my first day.”

“No worries about that”, Helena says with a smile of her own, taking another sip of her drink and relaxing further, “you did well. My father will be pleased to hear that we got the job done and that I didn’t mess up when I offered that driver job to you.”

“I imagine he’s pleased with your work often”, Dinah comments, making Helena shrug, “you seemed quite… competent tonight.”

“Tonight was a small job”, Helena tells her, and Dinah raises her brows, from what she has seen, it hasn’t exactly been a small fire, “a… warning, of sorts. Let’s hope the one it’s meant for gets the message.”

Dinah just nods at that, not quite sure what the appropriate response might be; Helena holds her gaze for another moment, then finishes her drink, placing the glass on the small table nearby, where it probably will be found and removed by someone from the staff, Dinah adding hers once she’s finished her own drink as well. 

“Your work is done for tonight”, Helena lets her know, “again, good job.”

“Thanks”, Dinah says, with another smile at the taller woman, “glad you’re satisfied. Good night, Helena.”

There’s something about the way Dinah says her name which makes Helena feel quite warm, and she knows it’s not the alcohol; she feels her cheeks heat up and clears her throat, but Dinah just smiles at her again, then turns and leaves the room, Helena watching her go, all thoughts about being professional for the moment forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably not the kind of "hot" Helena is hoping for with Dinah...


	9. Chapter 9

In the next morning, her father tells Helena that Marco Rossi will be at their house for dinner that evening, and that she should make sure to be around; since Helena has no other plans for the evening, she reassures her father she’ll be there, then heads to the gym for her daily workout, not surprised to find it empty.

She takes a few minutes to warm up and stretch her muscles, then begins the workout in earnest; for a while, the only sound in the gym is her breathing as she trains, but just when she has laid down for some bench pressing, the door opens and Dinah steps inside, her clothing indicating she is here to work out, as well, one of her eyebrows going up when Helena raises her head to look at her and their eyes meet.

“Not that it’s any of my business”, Dinah lightly says as she moves to one of the training machines and drops her towel there, “but aren’t you supposed to have someone around when you bench press?”

Helena just shrugs and lays down flat again, carefully taking hold of the weight above her; she’s fairly certain Dinah is watching her as she pushes the weight up from where it has been resting on, then lowers it until the bar almost rests across her chest before pushing it upwards, but she keeps her focus on the task at hand, it really wouldn’t do to have the weight fall and land across her chest.

She keeps going, keeping her gaze fixed on the weight as she lowers and lifts it, again and again; she can hear the machine Dinah has chosen as their new driver works, but still feels her eyes on her, and she’s briefly regretful that she can’t look, as well, flat on her back as she is. 

She’s used to being alone when she works out, but she doesn’t let Dinah being there deter her; as usual, she goes through twenty reps with the weight, a pleasant burn in her arms and chest when she stops and puts the weights back onto the hooks, then sits up, catching Dinah looking at her once more, the driver’s gaze clearly appreciative. 

“Man, you must be strong”, Dinah comments as Helena moves on to one of the other machines, one to train her legs as her arms, back and chest are for the moment taken care of, “I don’t think I could lift that once.”

Helena just shrugs, then realizes this might be somewhat rude and clears her throat, winning some time by taking a few long gulps from her water bottle before she does speak up, glad when Dinah smiles at her words, showing she hasn’t said something wrong.

“Well, I gotta stay in shape”, she tells the driver, positioning her feet already as she talks, “the work I do for the family sometimes requires… heavy lifting.”

_ And beating people up, and sometimes pulling teeth, and breaking fingers _ , she doesn’t say out loud, but Dinah knows what she does for the family, so Helena figures the driver is aware of it anyway, and to her credit, she just gives her a smile, the enforcer smiling back at her for a moment before she gets to work on her leg muscles.

“You know”, Dinah says, the fact that she doesn’t sound out of breath even as she is working out as well showing that her shape isn’t bad, either, “I figured that as your driver, I might be required to help with the heavy lifting at some point, so I guess it can’t help to get in shape, as well.”

“Yeah, that might happen”, Helena figures she might as well be honest about it, their previous driver has often helped her as well, especially when Pino hasn’t been with her, and while she isn’t sure they can trust Dinah enough yet to let her help with that kind of work, she realizes they might not have much of a choice later that day, with Rossi coming over for dinner, “actually, it might happen tonight. Just a heads up.”

Dinah just nods, and Helena gives her credit for not asking, even though she can tell that the driver is curious; as she’s not sure yet though they really will have to dispose of a body, she doesn’t say anything else, but just goes back to her workout, and Dinah does the same, Helena feeling her gaze on her as she trains, and each time she dares glance at the driver, their eyes meet, and she’s very aware of the way this makes her stomach clench, not quite sure where any of this might lead.

* * *

“Marco, welcome”, Franco greets their guest in the evening, smiling pleasantly at him as he lets him enter the house; Helena stands a few steps behind her father, wondering if Rossi has a suspicion why he has been invited, but if he does, he’s good at hiding it, smiling back at her father and kissing her mother’s hand, every inch the Italian gentleman.

“Thank you so much for the invitation”, he says once he has straightened up again, his gaze briefly flickering to Helena, then moving back to her father, but she knows what to look for, and now, she can tell he is uneasy at least at seeing her there - she is a Bertinelli, and it’s not strange to have her present at this dinner, but often, her presence means something else, something very unpleasant, and if he hasn’t had any suspicions, he might be having them now.

“Our pleasure”, Franco tells him, Maria nodding along in agreement, while Helena just keeps watching him, “why don’t we go sit down, dinner is almost ready.”

Rossi nods his agreement, and they all make their way to the large dining room; the moment they have sat down, one of their staff members appears and serves drinks, an expensive Italian wine, and this makes Rossi relax again, apparently, he thinks he wouldn’t be served that sort of drink if the Bertinelli family is planning to kill him.

Franco and Maria make pleasant small talk as dinner is served and they eat, while Helena mostly sits there and listens; and as the dinner progresses from soup to the main course, Rossi relaxes further and further, soon laughing and joking, any suspicions he might have had clearly faded away at this point.

“Time for dessert now, I think”, Franco says while the drinks are being refilled, and the staff hurries to get the plates; said plates are small, covered with silver domes, and Rossi blanches when the dome from his plate is removed and there’s bullets on it instead of the panna cotta the others have on theirs. 

“Yes, Marco”, Franco says, voice cold now, all friendliness gone, while Helena reaches behind her back and draws the gun from the holster hidden there beneath her blazer, “we know what you have been up to. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

“Come on, Franco”, Rossi says, sweating, his gaze flickering back and forth between the man in question and Helena and her gun, “it was just a small time deal, nothing big. Nothing which took any business from you!”

“The weapon trade in Gotham is ours, and you know it”, Franco coldly replies, and Rossi fidgets, for a moment Helena is sure he’ll try to make a run for it, and her finger moves to the trigger; he sees, and stills, his sweating increasing even when she relaxes again.

“It doesn’t matter if the business was big or small”, Franco continues, “you meddled in trade which is not yours, and you know what we do with those who meddle.”

“Franco, come on”, Rossi tries to plead once more, even though he knows it’s of no use, “we’ve been friends for such a long time, certainly, you won’t want to throw this away over one small deal?”

“You threw it away, when you made this deal”, Franco tells him, then nods at Helena; Rossi opens his mouth as if to try pleading once more, but Helena pulls the trigger before he can, the small  _ pop _ the gun produces fairly unimpressive thanks to the silencer, but the bullet does have the desired result, the shot hitting Rossi in the head and killing him at once.

“Franco”, Maria sighs as blood trickles from the hole in his head and to the floor, “why do we always have to do this in the dining room?”

Franco just shrugs, unperturbed by his wife’s dismay, while Helena puts the gun away; ignoring her share of dessert, she moves to Rossi’s seat and easily picks the corpse up in a fireman’s carry, her mother sighing when this causes more blood to dribble onto the expensive carpet.

“I’ll have the driver sent to the garage”, Franco tells her, and she just nods, she’s in good shape, but Rossi is literal dead weight and heavy, and she doesn’t want to waste any breath on talking when she has to carry him all the way to the garage.

“Good shot”, Franco still adds, giving her a proud smile while her mother sighs again; then, he calls for a staff member to alert Dinah that she’s needed while Helena makes her way to the garage, now finding herself wondering how Dinah will react to this as this time, there is no way she can keep her from seeing what they are going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good shot Helena is a good shot XD


	10. Chapter 10

Dinah is already at the car when Helena steps into the garage, and raises her brows at the dead man she carries; she says nothing though, just opens the trunk and watches how Helena drops the dead guy into it, the flow of blood having stopped at this point, so at least, Helena figures, it won’t mess up the car.

They both get into said car, and Dinah asks where she should drive, her voice remarkably steady, considering she just has watched Helena drop a dead guy into the trunk; but then, Helena reminds herself, Dinah has worked for Sionis, and the man is no saint, either, so this is probably not the first time she sees something like this happen.

“The harbour”, Helena replies, not really surprising Dinah as she figures that the ocean is a good hiding place for a corpse; she nods and starts driving, once again doing so in silence, Helena staring out the window as Dinah drives.

“So what he do?” Dinah does break the silence after a while, and Helena glances at her, she can’t blame her for being curious, but she also doesn’t want to give too much away; so, she shrugs, and keeps her answer short, glad when this seems to be enough for the driver anyway.

“Got involved in business he should have stayed out of”, Helena says, and Dinah nods, then focuses on driving again; it doesn’t take long until they are at the harbour, and Dinah parks at one of the piers, as close to the water as she can get without endangering the car.

Helena gets out and moves to the trunk, somewhat surprised that Dinah does the same; the driver doesn’t say anything, just leans in and grabs Rossi’s feet, and Helena is grateful for the help as she takes hold of the man beneath his armpits.

Together, they lift him out of the trunk and carry him to the edge of the water; Helena says “at the count of three”, then counts, and at three, they swing him over the low barricade and drop him into the water, the body causing a somewhat loud splash before it sinks.

“Thanks for the help”, Helena says once the body is out of sight, Dinah shrugging as she dusts off her hands, “I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it”, Dinah says with another shrug, “figured that would get it done faster, lessens the chance of anyone seeing us.”

Helena nods, figuring that this is a good point; she takes a moment to look around, making sure they have left no traces, then walks back to the car, Dinah right behind her, the driver starting the engine the moment both of them are in the car, figuring it will be smart to make a quick exit.

“I’ll want another drink after this”, Helena announces, Dinah nodding her agreement, a bit queasy at what she just has helped with, but it has been necessary, “do you want to join me?”

“Sure”, Dinah says at once, earning a small smile from the taller woman; she smiles back at her, then focuses on driving again, glad about the offer, knowing that what she has done tonight has helped her win more of Helena’s trust, something she is quite glad about.

* * *

During the next few weeks, Dinah not only gets used to her job as driver for a mafia family, but also establishes a sort of routine with Helena; it has been coincidence at first that they end up at the gym at the same time, but after a few mornings, she makes sure to be there when Helena is, if only so they can spend some time together outside of business and so she can get a good look at the woman’s muscles when she works out.

She drives Helena several times during those weeks, and gets to see many sides of the Bertinelli business; she’s there when they oversee several weapon deals, she’s there when Helena spends half an hour inside some rundown building and comes out with bruised knuckles and blood on her hands, and she’s there when Helena, Pino and some other guys go to take out a gang making a move on their turf.

That particular mission doesn’t go as easy as the family has hoped, and by the time they win the fight, they all are hurt, except for Dinah who’s been waiting in the car; and while Pino and the other guys head off to take care of their battle wounds on their own, Dinah takes hold of Helena’s arm when she wants to do the same and stops her, the enforcer giving her a curious look in response, but not pulling out of her hold, loose as it is.

“Come on”, she says, “I bet you got a first aid kit in the bathroom, let me help you get those injuries taken care of.”

“I can do that”, Helena tells her, even though she doesn’t mind the thought of Dinah helping her, she already has found her attractive back at the club and this has only increased since Dinah has started working for them, “wouldn’t be the first time. And that’s not part of your job description.”

“I don’t care if it is or not”, Dinah tells her, already leading the way to her room, Helena walking along willingly, “I did see how you stopped that one guy who was making a beeline for the car you know, so consider this my payback for that.”

“Alright”, Helena is quick to agree, she could have taken care of her wounds herself, as they aren’t that bad, but she does like the thought of Dinah doing it for her, and so, she lets the woman lead her to her room, where Dinah tells her to sit on the bed and, once Helena has done so, vanishes in the adjoining bathroom to get the first aid kit.

She doesn’t take long to come back, looking at the kit with an impressed expression; it is sort of big, Helena has to admit, but then, they need it for more than cuts and scrapes, something Dinah becomes aware of as well when she opens it and a suture set lies right on top.

“Please tell me you did not stitch yourself up with this”, Dinah says after a moment, looking at Helena again; the taller woman just shrugs, and after a moment of staring at her, Dinah shakes her head, then starts digging through the kit for disinfectant and gauze, continuing as she searches for what she needs.

“Just so you know”, she says, finding the disinfectant and continuing her search for the rest, “I can take care of smaller cuts like those ones, but I can’t stitch you up.”

“It’s not hard”, Helena tells her with another shrug, then gestures at a scar on her biceps, Dinah perhaps looking a bit closer than strictly necessary, she notices, “I stitched that up myself. Just a matter of practice.”

“I’m not sure I want to have practice in this”, Dinah lets her know with a raised eyebrow, Helena giving her a wry smile in response; after a moment, Dinah smiles back at her, then gets to work and starts cleaning the cuts, impressed with how Helena doesn’t react the slightest even though Dinah knows the disinfectant must sting in the open wounds.

“You must have the highest pain tolerance I have ever seen”, she comments after just working in silence for a while, earning yet another shrug from Helena, “you are feeling that, right?”

“Of course”, Helena replies, making Dinah smile at her somewhat indignant tone, “it just wouldn’t do for a mafia enforcer to show pain.”

“I guess not”, Dinah has to admit, moving on to another cut and cleaning it, glad that none of them are very deep, “but still, impressive.”

Helena almost shrugs again, but stops herself in the last second, figuring she has done so often enough in the last few minutes; she lets out a vague noise instead, Dinah giving her another brief smile before she focuses on her work again, soon getting done with cleaning the last cut and balling up the bloodied gauze.

“There we go”, she says, straightening up, “all cleaned up.”

“Thank you”, Helena solemnly says in reply, making Dinah smile at her serious tone, “I appreciate your help, I really do.”

“Well”, Dinah says, going for a light tone in contrast to Helena’s serious one, giving her another smile, “I’ll gladly patch you up anytime, you know.”

“Good to know”, Helena manages, suddenly acutely aware of the tension between them; she wonders for a moment if she should do something about it, but before she can come to a decision, there’s a knock at the door, her father probably, she realizes, wanting to know how the job has gone.

“Well, I better get going”, Dinah realizes the same thing, “I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow?”

Helena just nods, a bit miffed at the missed chance; Dinah gives her another smile, then leaves the room, nodding at Franco as she walks past him on her way out, the man watching her go with a raised eyebrow.

“Why was the driver in your room”, he then questions Helena as he enters and closes the door; before she can answer though, he sees the first aid kit and her cleaned cuts, and just nods, as if that explains it all, and to him, Helena figures, it probably does, he has always been perceptive, he has to be in his position.

“Good of her to help with this”, Franco comments, making Helena nod; then, he gives her a questioning look, and she starts telling him about the job and how it has gone, and even though she is focused on this, in the back of her mind, she keeps thinking of that moment with Dinah, how close they have been to  _ something _ and if there will be another chance for her to find out what would have happened, had they not been interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor ladies, getting interrupted XD


	11. Chapter 11

“Morning”, Dinah greets Helena in the next morning as she enters the gym, Helena already in the middle of her workout; she’s bench pressing again, so she only lets out a vague grunt in reply, but Dinah is used to this by now, and doesn’t take offense, taking a moment to see the muscle in Helena’s arms move before she starts her own routine.

Once again, Helena is aware of Dinah’s eyes on her as she pushes the weights up again, but this time, after the moment the previous evening, it is different; she thinks back to the tension between them, she’s sure it hasn’t been one-sided, Dinah  _ has  _ been looking at her when they have been working out together, and even though she’s not good at this sort of thing, she’s fairly certain her attraction isn’t one-sided.

She gets done with her reps at the weights, and when she sits up, Dinah’s eyes meet hers as the driver has been watching her again; Dinah smiles, clearly not bothered by having been caught staring, and comes to her feet, walking over to where Helena is sitting on the bench, stopping right in front of her, the way Helena now has to look up at her would have made the enforcer uncomfortable, had it had been anyone else, but she doesn’t mind with Dinah.

“So”, Dinah says, and Helena finds herself quite mesmerized by her lips as she speaks, “correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that yesterday would have… gone somewhere, if we hadn’t been interrupted.”

“Yeah”, Helena manages, suddenly finding it a bit hard to breathe, a fact which has nothing to do with her workout, she knows, “I… I think so, too.”

“Good”, Dinah smirks, “so that means I didn’t misread yesterday. And also, I know no one else comes here at this time of the day, so I can do this.”

And with that, she lowers herself onto Helena’s lap, the taller woman’s breath catching in her throat as she feels Dinah’s arms go around her; she returns the embrace barely noticing she is doing it, and then Dinah’s lips are on hers, and one of her hands is in her hair, and she’s quite glad she’s sitting down, with how wobbly her knees suddenly feel.

She knows they have been kissing for a while when Dinah finally pulls back, but it still dismays her when the kiss does end; she’s breathing noticeably heavier, and so is Dinah, but the driver is smiling, and Helena belatedly realizes that she too is grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m happy you did this”, she says, and Dinah lets out a small chuckle in response - before she kisses her again, Helena kissing her back at once, the sigh Dinah lets out when she runs one hand up her back sending a flash of heat right into her core.

“You know”, Helena mumbles once they have pulled apart once more, “far as I know, my father has no work for me tonight. You want to go out for dinner?”

“I like the sound of that”, Dinah smiles, then frowns a bit though, “but won’t your father wonder why I’m driving you around if we have no work to do?”

“What?”, Helena says, blinking, then realizes what Dinah is aiming for and shakes her head, continuing before Dinah can ask, “oh, no, no worries there, he’s known I’m gay for years, they all know. And he won’t mind I’m dating someone who works for us, so unless you’re creeped out by going with the woman who’s technically your boss…”

“No problem there”, Dinah reassures her at once, making her smile again before she pulls her in for another kiss, and when Dinah kisses her back at once, she can’t believe her luck, feeling content and happy, glad that things have worked out this way.

* * *

As this is their first official date, Helena insists that she will be the one driving, arguing that Dinah does enough of that when she is working, and Dinah is happy to let her take the wheel and be in the passenger seat for once; as she drives from the mansion, Helena tells her where they are going, one of the family’s preferred restaurants, and Dinah wonders out loud if she should feel honoured, being taken to a place with such importance to the Bertinelli family.

“Well, I don’t take ladies there every other night, if that is what you are wondering”, Helena tells her, making her smirk, “so it sorta is special. Also, I hope you like Italian.”

“I like you, which is probably a good start”, Dinah lets her know, making her smile, “and I’m aware that you’re not taking women on dates left and right, I have been driving you around a lot and I have noticed you’re home when you’re not working.”

“Yeah, I’m not one for going out much”, Helena admits, not that she is telling Dinah anything new, she figures, “but I’m really glad that Pino dragged me to the club that one night.”

“So am I”, Dinah reassures her, reaching over and placing her hand on the taller woman’s thigh; Helena smiles at her, then focuses on the road again, not wanting their first date to end with a car accident.

“There we are”, she states as she pulls up to the restaurant a short while later, killing the engine; Dinah and she get out of the car, and Helena offers her arm to the other woman, making her smile as she takes hold of it.

“Miss Bertinelli, welcome”, the man at the door greets her as they enter, smiling a surprisingly genuine smile, Dinah thinks to herself, but then, if the family truly does come to this place often, it’s no surprise, “so good to see you. The usual table?”

“If it’s free, then yes”, Helena tells him, and he smiles again as he reassures her it will be free in a few minutes, Dinah raising her eyebrows when he invites them to sit at the bar until then and have an aperitif on the house.

“Wow”, she mumbles as they sit down and the drinks are served at once, “you guys are really VIPs here huh? And I was thinking Sionis just made your brother VIP to do some asskissing.”

“Sionis probably did”, Helena replies with a small snort, making Dinah smile again as well, “but we’ve been coming to this place forever, I think my parents already ate here before I was born. Also, if the waiter with the huge mustache tells you a funny story about how I ran into him when I was five and made him drop a tray full of pasta, he totally made that up and it never happened.”

“I will keep that in mind”, Dinah reassures her with a small laugh; Helena smirks at her, then takes a sip of her drink, and a short while later, the maitre d makes a reappearance, letting them know that the table is ready and asking them to follow him.

“So, if you eat here all the time, you must know what’s good”, Dinah says once they have sat down and have been given menus, “what do you recommend?”

“The saltimbocca alla romana is delicious”, Helena tells her, Dinah raising her brows at the few Italian words, apparently quite enjoying Helena speak that language, “but the chicken cacciatore is very tasty, as well.”

“Okay”, Dinah says, giving her another look of appreciation, “noted, but you better stop talking in Italian now, or I might jump you right here at this table.”

“Questo è un tavolo molto privato”, Helena replies with a wink and smirk, and Dinah shudders theatrically, the taller woman’s smirk widening in response; for a moment, Dinah is seriously considering jumping her for real, even though she has no idea what Helena just has said, but then the waiter comes back and asks if they are ready to order, and she shelves that thought.

They both order, Dinah going with the first dish Helena has suggested; and when the waiter retreats, Dinah moves one foot beneath the table, running it up the inside of Helena’s leg, smiling when the taller woman gives her a look in response.

“Warned you”, is all she says, and Helena swallows heavily, fidgeting on the seat while Dinah smiles innocently, very aware of the reaction she is causing.

All at once, Helena is quite eager to get this meal over with and return to the mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Italian in this comes from Google translate, so I apologize if it's completely wrong ^^; Sadly, I don't speak Italian XD


	12. Chapter 12

In the next morning, Helena tells her parents about Dinah and their date at breakfast, not wanting to keep it from them and have them find out randomly after it has been going on for a while; they both react as expected, Maria smiling and telling Helena she’s happy for her while her father asks if she trusts Dinah, then nods his acceptance once Helena has told him she does.

“Congratulations”, he adds, Helena smiling a bit, but not very surprised, she’s been fairly certain this will be his reaction, “and good choice, picking someone who already knows what you do. No need to keep secrets then.”

“Franco”, Maria says with a roll of her eyes, making Helena smile slightly again, “I imagine she didn’t  _ pick her _ with that in mind.”

“I knew it”, Pino finds it necessary to declare, ignoring the look Helena shoots him, “you already looked at her that way at the club. Can’t blame you though, she is pretty attractive. Don’t get it on the car, I use that, too!”

“Giuseppe Bertinelli”, Maria immediately says in a strict tone, and Pino colours while Helena shoots him a triumphant look, “don’t be crude!”

“Sorry”, he mumbles into his coffee, glaring at Helena when she smirks at him; their father shakes his head at their antics, then changes the topic by telling Helena he’ll need her in the evening, and that he’ll come with her this time.

“Turns out that Marco Rossi’s brother is unhappy with what we did to Marco”, he adds, “so we’ll pay him a visit before he gets any ideas.”

Helena just nods, this is not the first time the family will make a move against another family before they have the chance to do anything about their grievance; she has a moment to wonder if her father’s driver will be the one on duty then, but before she can ask, Franco tells her that they’ll want to use her car, as it is much less suspicious, compared to the limousine.

“Okay”, Helena says with a little shrug, then frowns as another possible reason for why Franco might want to take her car hits her, “but Dad, please, tell me you’re not planning to give Dinah the shovel talk while we’re on the way.”

“I would never”, Franco protests, having the decency to look a bit guilty when Helena raises her brows, “but you can’t blame me for wanting to get another close look at the woman my daughter dates, can you?”   


“Well, no”, Helena has to admit, and now it’s Franco’s turn to look triumphant; he smirks at her, and she smiles back at him after a moment, figuring he won’t have anything to say against her dating Dinah, she trusts her and after the time she already has worked for them, she figures her father does, as well. 

“I’ll meet Dinah and you at the garage, at nine”, Franco tells her, making her nod, “you got the day free until then. Be punctual.”

“Of course”, Helena reassures him at once, making him smile slightly and nod; she smiles back at him for a moment, then focuses on finishing her breakfast, looking forward to spending her time off with Dinah until it’d be time for the job.

* * *

The job goes well, and so does Franco’s closer look at Dinah, as he deems her trustworthy and a good match for his daughter after the time they have shared; Helena finds herself wondering how he can be so sure, seeing they didn’t actually talk much and Franco has been sitting in the back, but then, her father is good at reading people, and she figures that what he has seen of Dinah has been enough to give him a good impression.

Now that their relationship is somewhat official, they spend time together around the house as well, not just at the gym, but also in Helena’s and Dinah’s room; Helena brings her to what Pino calls the “entertainment room” one evening and they play pool there, Pino unduly amused when Dinah beats Helena, claiming he has been trying to accomplish this for years.

“She probably let her win”, Franco comments, having watched the game, and smirking when Helena colours, “could have made half those shots with ease, you know.”

Dinah raises her brows at Helena in response, the taller woman giving her an innocent look in reply; shaking her head, the driver puts down the cue, then smiles at Helena, taking a step closer to her and touching her hand, not quite sure a more daring display of affection would be appropriate.

“Not to ruin this perfectly nice time”, she says, aware of how Franco and Pino are watching her, but not letting this stop her, “but remember, we got a dinner reservation.”

“Right”, Helena does remember, a place Dinah has suggested, serving spicy food she enjoys and which Helena is a bit worried about, but she figures she’ll be alright, “just let me change into something more suitable for going out, meet you at the garage in five?”

Dinah nods and lets Helena know she’ll go refresh her make up, the taller woman nodding before she heads to her room, changing quickly, smiling to herself as she looks forward to another night out with Dinah.

She doesn’t take long, but when she arrives at the garage, Dinah is already there, just tucking her phone into her pocket when Helena steps up to her; she smiles at her, then pulls her in for a brief, but gentle kiss, both of them smiling when they pull apart again.

“Ready to have your tongue burned off?” Dinah then teases, and Helena rolls her eyes, but smirks and nods; they both get into the car, Dinah driving this time as she knows where the restaurant is and Helena doesn’t.

They sit in silence as Dinah drives, Helena looking out the window, glancing at the driver again though when Dinah reaches over and places one hand on her thigh, smiling at her, feeling good and content when Dinah smiles back at her.

They drive for a while longer, to one of the less fancy parts of town, but Helena doesn’t really mind, knowing she can look out for herself; Dinah drives on for a little while longer, then pulls up onto a somewhat dark parking lot, near the restaurant’s entrance, looking at her as she kills the engine.

“Helena”, she says, and there is something strange in her voice which makes Helena look at her in worry, “I’m… I’m very sorry.”

Helena just has time for a confused look, then Dinah brings up her other hand and jabs the needle into her neck, and while she still tries to pull it out again, not able to understand what is happening, the world goes dark around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops. Oh no.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some blood and ouchies in that one.

Helena wakes to a dry mouth, a dull throbbing in her head and pain in her shoulders; she hears someone talk as she comes back around, but the sounds are muffled, showing they are not in the same room with her, and she holds back a groan as she slowly opens her eyes, not sure if she should be worried or relieved when she finds herself alone in a small, somewhat dirty room.

Whoever is responsible for this has chained her standing upright, with her arms above her head, which explains the pain in her shoulders, slumped down as she has been while unconscious; and when she moves to stand upright on her feet, to take the pull off her shoulders, she can feel the pull of more chains around her ankles, just long enough to let her stand, but not long enough to allow her any kicking.

_ Shit _ , she thinks to herself as she looks up at the cuffs around her wrists, any hope she might have had about getting out of this dashed at how tightly they have been closed, there’s no way she can get out of them; she gives a few experimental pulls at them instead, but the chain has been firmly connected to the ceiling, and even though she is in very good shape, she knows she won’t be able to pull it free.

The muffled talking nearby stops, and footsteps approach the room; Helena goes tense, but there is not much else she can do, and any plans she might have had blown from her mind when the door opposite of her opens and Sionis and Zsasz step inside - followed by Dinah, the driver avoiding it to look at her, Helena feeling as if she has been punched in the gut at the betrayal.

“Miss Bertinelli”, Sionis says, smiling his sleazy smile at her, “Helena. You don’t mind if I call you Helena, right? You can call me Roman. This is Victor.”   


“I think I’ll call you suicidal”, Helena snaps, glaring at him, not liking how unimpressed he seems, “you think my family will let this slide? You let me go now, you might not end up at the bottom of the ocean.”

“I don’t think you realize the extent of your predicament”, Sionis replies, Zsasz grinning while Dinah still can’t look at her, “unlike me, your car is at the bottom of the ocean. So is your phone, and Dinah’s. The only persons who know you are here are here in this room with you. So this is how this will go.”

He steps closer to her, but not so close that he gets within range of a headbutt, Helena notes; this annoys her for a moment, but she figures it wouldn’t have helped much to knock him down, not as long as she’s chained up like this and with no way to run once he’d be down.

“You will tell us everything we need to know about your family”, Sionis says, smiling again, “bank accounts, businesses, everything you know. If your answers please me, you will then be let go.”

“I only got one thing to tell you”, Helena snarkily replies, clenching her fists in helpless anger, but not willing to give him what he wants, “fuck you, and fuck your lapdog.”

Sionis takes one swift step closer to her and backhands her in the face, not only splitting her lip, but his ring tearing into her cheek, as well; she hears Dinah pull in a sharp gasp while Zsasz snickers, Sionis clearing his throat as he steps back again, then smiles, folding his hands behind his back, all business again.

“Sorry”, he says, not sounding as if he means it, “I really don’t like such foul language. Let me rephrase my former statement. You tell me everything, or I’ll let Victor here get to work on you, and he is  _ very _ good at causing pain. What do you say now?”

Helena spits a mouthful of blood at him in response, and he makes a face when it lands on his shirt; shaking his head, he pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and starts wiping at it, letting out a regretful sigh afterwards.

“A pity”, he then says, “I was hoping we could resolve this quickly and like adults. Victor. Get to work.”

Zsasz rubs his hands gleefully in response, then bends down to the bag at his feet and pulls out a roll of cloth; he unrolls it on the table next to the door with a flourish, a number of scalpels, knives and even a drill, of all things, glinting in the weak light in the room, the man letting out a thoughtful “hmm” as he studies his tools, clearly not sure what to start with.

“Remember”, Sionis says, grabbing Dinah’s arm as he turns to look at Zsasz, “don’t overdo it. I want her talking, not dead. Now, Miss Lance, why don’t we leave Victor to his work and discuss the results of your… work for me.”

“I did what you wanted”, Helena still hears Dinah say as Sionis practically drags her out of the room, then the door closes behind them, muffling their voices once more.

“Hmmm”, Zsasz lets out again, and Helena’s gaze moves to him, and she’s afraid now as the full extent of her situation hits home; she works hard to keep her emotions hidden, it won’t do let him see her fear, but it gets hard when he finally makes his choice, then turns to face her, the scalpel in his hand glinting dangerously.

“You know”, he says in a conversational tone, stepping closer to her, “Roman is right when he says I’m good at causing pain. But unlike you, I also enjoy it. So… I have to say, thank you for not talking right away. I would have hated to be robbed of this opportunity.”

“Fuck you”, Helena says again, and he laughs in response, clearly not as offended by her words as Sionis has been, or has pretended to be; he takes another step closer, and when he reaches up to run his fingers over the blood on her cheek, Helena tries to fight back the only way she has left, but he reacts faster than she has expected him to, pulling his hand back before she can actually bite him.

“Tsk tsk”, he lets out, shaking his head as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cloth, “a biter, are we? Here, you can bite down on this all you want.”

He makes a show of straightening it out, then steps closer again and roughly shoves it between her teeth; she lets out a grunt when he ties it firmly behind her head, smiling as he then picks up the scalpel again, pushing up her shirt enough to reveal her stomach, his smile widening when the tip of the blade easily cuts into her skin.

“Ah, the stoic, silent type”, he mumbles when she doesn’t show much of a reaction even as blood starts to trickle down her stomach, “I’ve had those before. In the end, they all start screaming, and you will, too.”

Helena holds out as long as she can, as he uses the scalpel and a larger knife, ironically, the gag actually helps with that as she can bite down on it; then he moves on to the drill though, and when he uses that, she does scream, and only stops when it all gets too much and she passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Helena... How's she gonna get out of this?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit more descriptions of ouchies in that one...

When Helena comes back around again, she’s alone in the room, a short reprieve, she knows; Zsasz’ torture tools are still there, and he won’t stop until she either has talked or he goes too far despite Sionis’ warning and kills her, but she’d rather have him do that than give away anything about her family.

She has no idea how long she has been out, and the room has no windows, so she has no way of telling; she figures it can’t have been too long though, her injuries have stopped bleeding, but the blood hasn’t fully dried yet, a sign that not too much time has gone by while she’s been unconscious.

_ They’ll just let you stew here for a while _ , she realizes, certainly, Sionis and Zsasz have other things to do and can’t just hang out here all day to torture her,  _ wear you down further by having you stand here helpless and in pain, looking right at his torture tools. _

He’s left what he has used on her right at the front too, so she can see the blood on the blades and the drill; seeing it makes her stomach turn, and she looks away after a moment, pulling in a slow, controlled breath as she tells herself that there has to be a way out of this.

_ Come on, think _ , she strictly tells herself, looking up at where the chain is mounted to the ceiling again,  _ you can get out of this, you can, if you just give up, they will win. _

Unbidden, her eyes move back to the drill, and a flash of pain runs through her leg just from looking at it; if she could somehow get at it, she could use it to drill the cuffs open, but it’s too far away, just like all of Zsasz’ other tools, placed so that she can see them, but has no chance to get at them.

Footsteps outside distract her from her observations, and she freezes, her heart beating faster as she wonders if Zsasz is coming back already after all; then, the door opens and Dinah steps into the room, glancing left and right before she hurries to where Helena is standing, the taller woman eying her warily, not quite sure what to think of this now.

“I’m so sorry”, Dinah says as she pulls the gag out of her mouth, Helena fighting the urge to lick her dry lips, not sure if she can believe this is an actual rescue and not some sort of creepy mind game Sionis has come up with, “he left me no choice, I swear I… I’ll explain, once we’re out of here, they’re not around right now but we might not have much time.”

“The drill”, Helena manages, still not quite sure if she can believe that this is an actual rescue, but figuring taking her chances is better than just staying here, “use that. For the chains.”

“Yeah, good idea, okay”, Dinah says, a bit rambly, showing that she is nervous; she hurries to grab the drill, and when she switches it on, Helena can’t stop herself from flinching, something Dinah thankfully doesn’t comment on as she kneels down to get rid of the chains around her ankles first.

It works better than Helena has dared to hope, Dinah doesn’t even need a minute until they drop down to the ground; she straightens up and goes for the chain between the handcuffs, and when it snaps a short while later, Helena staggers, only Dinah’s fast reaction keeping her from falling as she wraps one arm around her quickly and keeps her upright.

“I’m so sorry”, she says again, sounding as if she is close to tears now, convincing Helena that this is an actual rescue and not some sort of act; she lets out a vaguely agreeing grunt in reply, the world is greying around the edges and it’s hard to stay conscious, as the bit of movement has brought up fresh pain in her wounds, the one in her leg actually bleeding again from the few moments she has put her weight on it.

“Come on”, Dinah says, moving so that Helena can put one arm around her shoulders and keeping one of her own arms around her waist, supporting her the best she can, “let’s get out of here, I don’t think he was planning to come back here tonight, but…”

Helena makes herself nod, and tells herself she can do this, she can hold on until she’s out of this place at least; she grits her teeth, and they get moving, as fast as she can with her injured leg, Dinah helping her along the best she can, now quite glad for the workouts she has done during the past few weeks.

At least, it’s not far to the exit, and even though they have to move up some stairs to get there, they make it somehow; by the time they step out of the building, a long abandoned store in one of the nastier parts of town, Helena isn’t sure if she’s about to throw up or pass out or both, but she forces herself to keep moving, telling herself that there is no time for any of this now.

“My car’s over there”, Dinah tells her, luckily, it’s parked not far from the entrance, “come on, just a few steps further, I got some water in there, too, come on…”

She keeps her arm around the taller woman’s waist, and Helena is thankful for the support as it gets increasingly harder to stay on her feet; when they reach the car and Dinah pulls the door open for her, she practically falls into the seat, grunting as this causes more pain, but at least, the urge to throw up has passed, and when Dinah gets into the passenger seat and hands her the bottle of water, she gulps down half of it at one go, not caring that it’s lukewarm.

Dinah starts the engine and, after another look at Helena, steps down on the gas pedal; Helena tells herself to stay awake as she screws the cap back onto the bottle, a task which seems more difficult than it should be, but she realizes when Dinah parks the car that she must have blacked out at some point, not remembering much of the drive back to the mansion.

They  _ are _ at the mansion though, so Helena figures that this truly has been a rescue and not some weird mental torture game; Dinah tells her to stay where she is, that she no longer is in any shape to walk anywhere, then gets out of the car and hurries to the front door, and for horrible moment, Helena is sure that Zsasz will pop out of the bushes, get into the driver’s seat and take her back to his torture basement.

Instead, the front door opens, and Pino himself stands there instead of someone from the staff; Dinah starts explaining, and he looks towards the car and goes wide-eyed, then shouts into the house, Helena can see his mouth move, but the noises are oddly dull, and she realizes that she’s about to pass out after all.

She still sees how two of their guys come running towards the car, carrying a stretcher between them, Pino and her parents following suit, and Dinah right behind them; and just when the passenger side door is pulled open, she blacks out despite her best efforts to stay awake, but even as darkness takes over again, she knows that she’s safe for real and that she’s out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dinah to the rescue :D


	15. Chapter 15

The first thing Helena sees when she opens her eyes yet again is the ceiling of her bedroom, and the fact that the room is lit up by the sun tells her she’s been out for quite long this time; she can feel bandages and stitches beneath them, but there’s no pain, a pleasant lightness has taken hold of her instead, and she figures that she’s pumped full with painkillers.

“Helena”, her brother says to her right, and it takes her quite a bit more effort than it should to turn her head and look at him, “hey. There you are again. How’re you feeling?”

“Where’s Dinah”, Helena wants to know in reply, the slight slur she can hear in her own voice just another sign that some strong painkillers have been administered; Pino makes a face, then shrugs, sounding a bit regretful when he answers, Helena frowning at his words.

“Locked up in the basement, for now”, he lets her know, “she didn’t tell us much, but Dad figured she’s had a hand in what happened. But she says she’d only talk once you are awake and can be there, too, so we figured we might as well wait.”

“She got me out”, Helena mumbles, finding it a bit hard to remember the details, the fuzziness of her mind another thing she blames on the painkiller, “she helped.”

“She got you in that mess in the first place”, Pino points out, and Helena frowns again, but she knows this is true, she does remember the moment in the car when Dinah has apologized before jabbing the needle into her neck, “so she better have a very good reason for what she did, or Dad will have her head.”

“I want to know”, Helena declares, sitting up and ignoring it when Pino flails his hands at her and tells her to stop, “I want to know now why she did what she did.”

“Okay, okay, but lie back down, Jesus”, Pino says, now placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back into the pillow, “he fucking drilled into your leg, you’re in no shape to walk around. I’ll tell Dad, we’ll get her in here.”

“Okay”, Helena gives in quickly, and if Pino had needed another sign that she’s not well, this would have been it, as he knows well how stubborn she can be; he gives her another strict look just in case, then hurries out of the room to get their father, Helena slumping back into the pillow and staring up at the ceiling.

_ This will hurt more than anything else I did so far _ , she remembers Zsasz mumble into her ear, he’s been so close to her that she’s felt his breath on her skin, the memory making her stomach clench,  _ so come on, do yourself a favour. Talk. Nod if you want to. _

Helena closes her eyes as she remembers the pressure of the drill against her thigh, moments before he’s switched it on; her breath quickens, and she tries hard to force the images out of her mind, relieved when the door opens and provides a distraction.

It’s her father who enters, followed by Pino, and her brother has a firm hold on Dinah’s arm; the driver’s hands are cuffed in front of her, but she seems unharmed, and Helena is glad her family hasn’t beaten her up while she’s been out cold, in an attempt to get her to talk.

“You got your wish”, Franco tells Dinah, the cold tone of his voice making Helena frown again, “now talk.”

“I’m very sorry for what I did”, Dinah says in response, not taking her gaze off of Helena for a second even as Franco glares at her, “and I wouldn’t have done it if I had felt that I had a choice. Sionis told me I’d either start working for you, spy on you for him and get you to him once you’d trust me, or he’d hand me over to Zsasz. I’ve seen what he does to people, I was scared, so I agreed.”

“You’ve seen”, Franco latches on to that at once, “before he did all this to Helena?”

“Yes”, Dinah confirms, swallowing heavily, “Sionis made sure to make me watch. It took hours until that guy… And right after that guy was dead, he told me I’d be next, if I didn’t do this for him.”

“You could have told us”, Pino tells her, but Franco looks a bit less pissed off, and Helena figures this has to be a good sign, “we would have made sure he wouldn’t touch you.”

“He’s made her watch how his lapdog tortured a man to death”, Franco points out, “and I imagine that unlike for us, this is not a sight she is used to. I can’t blame her for agreeing.”

“And she got me out”, Helena adds, making them all look at her, “yeah, she fucked up and got me there but… she also got me out. Sionis was right when he said nobody but him, her and Zsasz knew I was there. If she hadn’t helped…”

“So he will also know that you got her out”, Franco realizes, frowning, “do not get me wrong, I am very cross with you still, my daughter is hurt in her bed because of you. But I won’t throw you to him in vengeance, because you are also the reason my daughter is actually here.”

“I’m very sorry”, Dinah says again, swallowing as she hasn’t wanted to say this in front of Helena’s father and brother, but not wanting to hold back, either, “and Helena, I… I want you to know that what I feel for you is real. I didn’t… I don’t know, fake that or anything.”

“You wouldn’t have come back for me if you had”, Helena points out, glad when Franco nods his agreement after a moment; he gives Pino a look, and the younger man pulls a key from his pocket and unlocks the cuffs, Dinah slumping in relief when they are removed.

“Do not make me regret this”, Franco says, strict again, but not as cold and angry anymore as he has been, “this family has trusted you. If this is another ploy to betray us again, to betray my daughter again, I will put a bullet in your head myself.”

Dinah just nods, she can’t really blame the man for feeling this way; Franco gives her another hard look, then turns and leaves the room without another word, Pino following suit, gently closing the door behind himself, and now, as Dinah is alone with Helena, she finds it hard to meet her eyes, fidgeting as she looks at everything but the other woman.

“If I say I’m sorry again”, she’s the one to break the silence after just a few moments, not able to stand it, “I’ll start sounding like a broken record. But I am, I really am. God, when I went back into that room and saw you…”

“I’ll be fine”, Helena says at once, an automatic reaction whenever she’s hurt, and Dinah raises her brows at that, “and I can say that because you did come back.”

“I shouldn’t have taken you to him in the first place”, Dinah mumbles, she’s been stewing in her guilt ever since the Bertinellis had handcuffed her and taken her to the basement, again and again thinking back to how she has pulled up to the building Sionis has directed her to, and the smile on Zsasz’ face when he’s seen Helena unconscious in the passenger seat, “I’m sorry.”

“Come here”, Helena tells her in response, and Dinah moves over to her bed, sitting down on the edge when Helena pats it invitingly; and a moment later, the taller woman reaches out and grasps her hand, glad when Dinah manages a small smile at the contact.

“I officially forgive you”, Helena solemnly says, and now, the tears Dinah has been holding back do come, “I get why you did it. I don’t blame you. Okay?”

Dinah nods as she wipes her eyes, and manages another small smile; Helena smiles back at her, then tugs her closer and into a kiss, and as Dinah kisses her back, she allows herself to believe that Helena truly has forgiven her, sure that things will work out fine between them and for them now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, all is well :D


	16. Chapter 16

A short while after the talk, the family doctor makes an appearance to check on Helena, a kindly elderly woman who makes Helena grumble by shining a light into her eyes and asking her a bunch of questions, like what year it is and how many fingers she is holding up; and clearly, the woman picks up on Helena’s annoyance about this, as she shakes her head, then gives her a strict look.

“You got a split lip and this cut in your cheek probably has been caused by a ring the one who’s hit you has been wearing”, she then points out, Dinah a bit impressed at this deduction, “so you took one hit to the head, at least. I need to make sure you’re not concussed.”

“My brain is fine”, Helena grumbles, “and the rest of me will be soon, too. Dinah got me out before he could do too much damage.”   


“I think he did more than enough”, the doctor says, unimpressed by her grumbling, “I’d say you should stay in bed for a week at least, but I know you, so I won’t bother. At least do me the favour and use crutches when you walk around, don’t put weight on that leg until that wound has healed at least a bit.”

“Okay”, Helena agrees at once, just happy that she won’t be given bedrest for a week or longer, “I can do that, yeah.”

“I’ll make sure she does”, Dinah throws in, the doctor giving her a smile while Helena makes a face, and for a moment, Dinah wonders if the doctor knows about her role when it comes to Helena’s injuries, but if she does, she doesn’t let it show.

“Fiiiiine”, Helena lets out, making both Dinah and the doctor smile, “team up against me, why don’t you.”

“It’s for your own good”, the doctor says, and Dinah nods along; Helena grumbles again, but lets it happen that the doctor starts removing bandages to check on her wounds, and as the doctor works, Dinah’s face darkens, she gets a way too good look at Helena’s injuries and knows that she is partly responsible for each of them, even if she hasn’t wielded the scalpel herself.

She doesn’t allow herself to look away, even though she wants to, and even though the deeper wounds, the ones which have required stitches, make her stomach clench; Helena takes note of how her mood plummets, but doesn’t say anything, not wanting to bring this up in front of the doctor.

The woman seems unaware of Dinah’s predicament, fully focused on her work as she applies ointment and puts bandages back on; she works fast, but thoroughly, and soon, she’s done, straightening up and telling Helena that she’ll leave her some less strong painkillers and how many she can take of them a day before she says goodbye and leaves for the day. 

“Hey”, Helena quietly says the moment the woman is out the door, “I told you I don’t blame you, and I meant that. Don’t blame yourself, either, please?”

Dinah sighs, then shrugs, managing a wry smile while Helena grasps her hand again; she looks down on Helena’s fingers curled around her own, then back up at the taller woman, meeting her gaze despite the guilt she still feels.

“I can’t help it”, she admits, Helena squeezing her hand in response, “your brother was right you know, I just should have told you guys what Sionis wanted me to do, instead of doing it and putting you through this.”

“Well, it’s like Dad said”, Helena reminds her, “it’s not like you’re used to torture and all that shit, anyone would have been freaked out at that. Hell, Zsasz freaked me out when I saw him the first time in that club, before I even had an idea he’s Sionis’ torture expert.”

“I can’t believe you forgave me so quickly”, Dinah admits something which has been on her mind for quite a while now, she’s fairly certain that, had their roles been reversed, she wouldn’t have been quite as forgiving, “I was halfway sure you’d tell me to get lost and that you never want to see me again.”

“I might have”, Helena freely tells her, and Dinah blinks, smiling again a bit though when the taller woman continues, “if you hadn’t gotten me out, as well. Honestly, at first I thought this is some weird mind game Sionis has come up with, but… Once I was sure it’s not, and that you’re actually saving my ass, how could I not have forgiven you?”

“I wouldn’t have had to rescue you if I hadn’t gotten you there in the first place”, Dinah sighs, “but I’m happy you’ve forgiven me, I… I like you a lot.”

She blushes a bit, and Helena smiles at her and squeezes her hand, reassuring her she likes her a lot, as well; and just when Dinah gets ready to lean in for a kiss, there’s a knock at the door and it opens a moment later, Pino carrying in a tray with breakfast for Helena, the fact that Franco is right behind him telling her though that this isn’t just a food delivery.

“Helena”, he greets, Dinah not quite sure if she should stay or leave, but then figuring Franco would tell her if he wanted her out of the room, the fact that he nods at her as he says “Dinah” telling her that she probably can stay, thus not moving while Franco pulls the chair from Helena’s desk to the bed and Pino puts the tray onto her lap, mindful of her injured leg.

“I know you’re hurt”, he says after a moment, while Helena gets started on breakfast, realizing belatedly how hungry she is, “and that you’re healing but… I want to make a move against Sionis, and fast.”

“Me too”, Helena says at once, not really surprising anyone, not after what Sionis and Zsasz have done to her, “by now, he’ll have realized I’m not there anymore, so he’ll be working on a new plan. We should stop him before he can come up with something else.”

“I’ll bait him”, Dinah throws in before anyone else has a chance to say something, feeling a bit nervous when six pairs of eyes focus on her, Helena frowning while Pino looks worried and Franco appears mildly interested, and this is what spurs her on further, “he must be very pissed at me for getting Helena out. He’ll want me dead.”

“Yeah”, Pino comments while Helena’s frown deepens, she clearly doesn’t like the idea, but even though her mind is racing, she can’t come up with anything better, “you’re right. But how? We can’t just have you walk around randomly and wait for him to strike.”

“No”, Franco says, sounding thoughtful now, “but there is something else we can do. Perhaps not exactly bait, but… We could offer her. Tell him we want to make peace with him, offer her up as a way to convince him we mean it. And then kill him, and his lapdog.”

“I don’t like this”, Helena declares, not really surprising anyone, but sighing a moment later as she has to admit she has no better idea, “but we have to move fast, and I can’t think of a better way to get him to trust us enough to meet us.”

“I don’t like it, either”, Pino sighs, “but I’m with Helena, I can’t think of anything else.”

“Don’t worry”, Franco says, the way he looks at Dinah now much kinder, compared to the previous evening, clearly, he is impressed by the offer, “you won’t be in real danger for even a second. We’ll just have to make him believe you are.”

He starts laying out the vague plan which has formed so far, the others adding their ideas; and soon, they decide they are ready, and Pino goes to make the phone call to Sionis, all four of them determined to get rid of the man and his lapdog for once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brave Dinah is brave. XD


	17. Chapter 17

Sionis, unsurprisingly, has refused to meet with the Bertinelli family at their mansion, and Pino has told him they won’t come to his club; after some discussion, they have settled on a neutral meeting point at the harbour, Sionis already there when the limousine pulls up and comes to a stop.

Franco gets out, not bothering to fake a smile, even as Sionis smiles at him; Zsasz is standing next to him, as expected, a scowl on his face, apparently, he doesn’t think this is a good idea, but Sionis is the one who calls the shots, and after a bit of debate with Pino, he has agreed to meet them.

“Franco”, Sionis greets, the familiarity with which he addresses him making the man in question set his jaw, “I have to say, I was surprised when your son called and asked for a meeting. And fairly certain that this is a trap. You didn’t bring Helena?”

“My daughter is in no state to go anywhere”, Franco coldly replies, he’s better at hiding his rage than Helena is, but it does flare up when Sionis smiles and Zsasz actually snorts, as if he has said something funny, “but she’ll recover. Surely you understand she had no interest in coming here tonight, even if she had been capable to get out of bed. The family has no interest in feuding with you though, so we are here tonight to come to an agreement.”

“Which is somewhat surprising”, Sionis tells him, smirking again, “I was fairly certain you’d open fire the moment you’d get out of the car. I haven’t seen it, personally, but from what Victor told me, your daughter truly was in no good shape when Miss Lance betrayed me and helped her escape.”

“You might want to stop reminding us of this”, Pino coldly says, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring, “or we could end up changing our minds about not wanting a feud. You’ve hurt one of us. Badly. We usually don’t take kindly to that.”

“We also are aware though”, Franco takes over again, “that our areas of business don’t… overlap. We’d like to keep it this way. So here is our offer.”

He pauses for a moment, as if he has to sort his thoughts, even though he knows perfectly well what he will say; and when he does continue, Sionis looks excited, and Zsasz, as well, Pino not bothering to hide his disgust at this reaction.

“You will get the Lance woman”, Franco says, keeping his features carefully controlled when Zsasz licks his lips, “after how she has betrayed my daughter, I don’t care what you do with her. We will not retaliate for what you did to Helena, and we will stay out of each other’s business.”

“A tempting offer”, Sionis says, raising his brows, “you brought the woman?”

Franco nods at Pino in response, and the younger man opens the back door of the limousine, pulling Dinah out; her hands are tied behind her back, and there’s a firm gag in her mouth, Sionis grinning at the noise of protest she lets out when she sees Zsasz and him.

“Very good”, Sionis says, “a very good offer. I know Victor was sad that his… work got interrupted last night, so surely, Miss Lance will make a good consolation prize. Victor, get her into the car.”

Zsasz starts to move, and just as he moves in front of Sionis, where the man has a good view of him, the crossbow bolt hits him in the throat.

Sionis freezes, and Zsasz crumbles, blood blubbering from his mouth as he gurgles helplessly; his hands come up to the bolt, but it has been a good shot, and before his fingers can make contact, his arms slump back down, his eyes wide and frightened as a puddle of blood forms beneath him.

“You might be smart when it comes to frightening people into betraying those who trust them”, Franco says, having his gun out within the blink of an eye and aiming it at the stunned Sionis, while Dinah twists her hands and the rope falls off, allowing her to pull the gag out herself, “but you are not very smart when it’s about realizing one important thing.”

“What are you talking about”, Sionis stammers, looking at Zsasz again before his gaze comes back up to Franco, Zsasz’ gurgles dying down as his life is fading away; Franco smiles coldly, while Pino pulls Dinah behind him, just in case Sionis might remember he has a gun, as well, the driver letting it happen even though she would have loved to put a bullet into the man’s head herself.

“You don’t realize when someone just talks to win some time”, Franco says, “so the one who’ll do the actual work can get into position. Helena, we’re done here.”

Sionis still has time for his eyes to widen almost comically, then a bolt hits him as well, and into the throat, like Zsasz; he staggers and falls to his knees, Franco smiling as he tucks the gun away again, moving closer to the gaping club owner, making sure his face will be the last thing Sionis sees.

“You’ve had my daughter tortured”, he coldly says, “and you would have let your lapdog kill her, had he been given time enough. No one does this to my family and lives.”

Sionis gurgles in response, blood running down his chin; when it seems as if he will fall over backwards, Franco grabs a fistful of his shirt and keeps him upright, staring at him and letting him see the hatred and contempt in his eyes until Sions goes limp in his grasp as he dies.

Franco lets go of him and dusts of his hands while the dead body slumps to the ground; and while he walks back to where Pino and Dinah are standing, Helena comes limping out from the hiding place she’s snuck to while Franco and Sionis had been talking, leaning somewhat heavily on a crutch, but she has been determined to be the one to make those kills, and after what Sionis and Zsasz had done, Franco hasn’t had the heart to deny her this.

Dinah immediately moves to support the taller woman, taking note of how pale she is and the sweat on her forehead, a clear sign that she is in more pain than she is willing to show; she wraps one arm around Helena’s waist, and after a moment, Helena allows herself to lean onto her, figuring it’s okay to show a bit of weakness, with just her family here and both Sionis and Zsasz dead.

“You look as if you are about to pass out”, Franco observes, frowning, “why don’t you wait in the car with Dinah, Pino and I will take care of the bodies.”

On any other day, Helena would have protested, and would have insisted to help; her leg feels as if it has been set on fire by now though, after the time she has spent hidden and waiting for her moment, and the other injuries are pulsing with pain, as well, so she just nods, Dinah opening the limo’s back door for her before they both get inside.

“Here”, Dinah says, pulling the pack of painkillers from her pocket and finding a bottle of water in the limousine’s mini fridge, “you do look like you can need one of those.”

“Thanks”, Helena sighs, accepting both the pills and the water; she gulps one down, then, after a moment of thinking about it, adds a second one, washing it down with the rest of the water, leaning back into the seat afterwards and letting out a sigh as she hopes the pills will kick in quickly.

“I’m glad Sionis has been taken care of”, Dinah says, prompting Helena to lift her head again slightly so she can look at her, “now you can just focus on getting better, and once you are, I can show you how much I appreciate and like you.”

Helena raises her brows at that, then smiles; Dinah winks and smiles back at her, then leans in to kiss her, Helena moving one arm to pull her close, both of them able to breathe easier now that both Sionis and Zsasz are dead and gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's two creeps less in the world :D


	18. Chapter 18

For the days after Sionis and Zsasz have been taken care of, Helena does take it easy, at least compared to her usual routine; she spends most of the day in her room, Dinah keeps her company, and they watch movies together and cuddle whenever Helena takes a nap, something she hardly ever has done before Zsasz has gotten his hands on her, but something her body demands now as her wounds are healing.

Thanks to Helena actually listening to her doctor and taking it easy, her injuries are healing well; most of them will scar, she can tell as they heal, constant reminders of what Zsasz has done to her, of the hours she has been forced to stand helpless and at his mercy.

The first few days, she has nightmares, dreaming of the drill pressing against her leg, the sharp blade of a scalpel parting her skin; the first two nights, she wakes with a scream stuck in her throat, but then, Dinah develops an uncanny ability to be able to tell when Helena has bad dreams, and hugs her when it happens and rubs her back, and that makes the nightmares go away, so quickly that Helena doesn’t even get torn out of her sleep anymore.

Not only does Dinah learn to notice Helena having nightmares and how to stop them, but she also takes note of how Helena sometimes looks at the forming scars, of how her gaze darkens as she takes them in; and just like with the nightmares, she soon comes up with a way to direct Helena’s dark thoughts from the origins of those scars to something much more pleasant.

She has to wait to put her plan in motion until Helena actually has recovered enough for it, and deems it a good time when Helena dares to go work out for the first time since the hours in the basement; she does need a nap afterwards, but she handles it fine otherwise, and in the same evening, when Dinah and she have retreated to her room after dinner, Dinah decides to make her move.

“You know”, she lightly says as Helena gets comfortable on her bed, looking at her curiously as she speaks up, “you seem a lot better now. More… fit.”

“I suppose so?” Helena says, clearly not having an idea where this is going, and Dinah finds herself a bit amused at this, the woman knows roughly a thousand ways to cause someone pain to get them to talk, and yet she’s so clueless about this, “I do feel better…?”   


“Good”, Dinah tells her, smiling a clearly seductive smile, and Helena does pick up on this at least, swallowing heavily, “because I do believe I promised you something once you’d feel better.”

She moves to straddle the taller woman, mindful of the still healing injury, takes her face in both hands and kisses her; Helena kisses her back at once, wrapping both arms around her, a low moan coming from her when one of Dinah’s hands moves to slide beneath her shirt and up her bare back.

Pulling back from the kiss, Dinah gives her another smile as she tucks at her shirt, and Helena obediently raises her arms so Dinah can pull it over her head and throw it aside, Dinah taking a moment to admire her build afterwards, running the tips of her fingers over the enforcer’s abs, smiling when she both hears and feels Helena pull in a sharp gasp in response.

Gently, she traces one of the scars Zsasz has caused, and kisses Helena again at the same time, making sure to connect her touching of the scar to something positive and pleasant; and judging from how Helena’s breath quickens, she’s doing a good job, the taller woman noticeably flushed when Dinah pulls back from the kiss to look at her.

“Still feeling good?” she asks, and Helena nods at once, making Dinah smile again; she takes a moment for another kiss, a short, but gentle one, then moves to pull down Helena’s pants, the taller woman watching her do so with clear desire in her eyes, even though Dinah stops her when she reaches for her shirt.

“Nope”, she says when Helena gives her a look of dismay, “for now, just lean back, relax and let me do all the work.”

Helena swallows heavily in response, and nods, Dinah giving her another smile as she removes her pants and tosses them aside; she makes sure to not look at the still healing injury in Helena’s thigh, not wanting her to pay attention to that now, but moves to kiss her again instead, tenderly running her hands up at the other woman’s sides and holding back a smile when Helena sighs into her mouth.

For a while, Dinah keeps her focus on kissing, and on touching all of Helena’s upper body she can reach; and by the time she lets one of her hands slide inside the other woman’s boxers, she feels quite good at the warm wetness she finds there.

Helena pulls in a sharp gasp at the smallest touch, this very good reaction only spurring Dinah on further; she kisses Helena again as she slowly moves her fingers, making sure to muffle the moans Helena soon starts letting out, she knows people usually don’t just walk into her room without knocking, but she also doesn’t want anyone who happens to walk past to hear.

Helena’s hands are on her hips as Dinah keeps going, speeding her movements up slightly; and soon, she can feel the taller woman’s fingers tighten around her shirt, and then Helena pulls back from the kiss and grits her teeth, letting out a low, long groan as she comes, the way Dinah can feel her tremble beneath herself making her smile yet again.

She knows better than to pull back at once, but slows down instead, Helena breathing heavily as she struggles to regain her composure; she lets out a groan as her head drops back against the headboard, and Dinah finds herself grinning a bit smugly, quite happy about this good reaction.

“That was incredible”, Helena manages before Dinah can say anything, the breathless tone of her voice showing that she’s not exaggerating, “holy shit.”

“Happy to hear”, Dinah tells her, Helena giving her a somewhat goofy grin in response - before she pulls her in for a kiss, Dinah more than happy to kiss her back, wrapping both arms around her again as she’s straddling her.

She’s happy, she knows Helena is happy, and that Helena is healing; the trust between them hasn’t been damaged by what has happened, the family trusts her again, as well, and while she knows that they’re both leading dangerous lives, with the connection she now has to the mob, she’s certain that things will only get better for them in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done :D Hope you enjoyed and that I'll see you at the next one :D Thank you for reading, kudos and commenting :D


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